I
used to call my two brothers on Veteran’s Day and tell them they were my
favorite veterans!
This year Veteran’s Day has an even
more special meaning to me. It was my assignment last month to write the obituary
for my last remaining brother. In the last year and a half our family lost our
two brothers who had served in the military. One was 86 and the other was 88.
They were career military Army, both fought in World War II and
Korea. The younger
brother Brian also fought in Vietnam.
Those are the bare facts. The older
brother Lee graduated from high school and immediately joined the Army with
friends and relatives. The entered WWII in North
Africa, took part in the Italian Campaign
taking Rome on
June 4, 1944. My brother
told of being in the Coliseum after taking Rome when the
announcement came that the Channel Invasion had started on June 6; the Allies
were landing at Normandy. Two big battles
later, Monte Cassino and Anzio, my brother was
injured and taken to France to recover. He
joined an anti-tank unit and they liberated part of France and went on into
Germany. He never forgot
that General Patton in a jeep convoy stopped at their anti-tank armored vehicle
and congratulated them for their good work in France. His battalion was
awarded the French Croix de Guerre by the French Government, for
bravery and valor in the Liberation of France.
The
younger brother flew a helicopter in Korea and did two tours in
Vietnam before returning to his home in Michigan.
Neither talked much about war experiences. My nieces
and nephews call them heroes, but they would have denied that and just said they
were “grunts” like cartoonist Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe.
Standing in Fort Custer Military Cemetery
in Michigan last weekend, with almost as many flags planted as there were trees,
I gave thanks to all veterans, especially my older brothers, Lee and Brian.
.
PCH@Main
No comments:
Post a Comment