As a rule we don’t do posts for each holiday, but as Paul Green reminded us in a comment on another thread, perhaps we should for Veteran’s Day in particular.
Veterans Day is an opportunity to be able to explicitly acknowledge our Newton neighbors who have made personal sacrifices for all of us.
So thanks to all our Newton veterans, whether you are serving now, or you served many years ago, Im equally grateful for the sacrifices you and your family made on our behalf.
Though he’s not a Newton neighbor, and he’s no longer here to appreciate it. I also thank my wounded father for his service in WW II.
This post is open for all comments of gratitude that you may want to share.
I just got off the phone with my father-in-law, Donald Miller. He enlisted after Pearl Harbor when he was 17. Flew as a crew member on 35 successful missions over Hitler’s Germany. He was shot down twice. Crash landed too many times to remember. Donald was the only member of his 13 man crew to survive the war.
Thanks to all who served. Wishing you all a peaceful Veteran’s Day.
My maternal grandfather was a dentist and tried to enlist during WW II but was rejected for medical reasons. Instead, he served by volunteering at the local base doing dental work for the enlisted men. He also took care of the patients of local dentists who had enlisted and gave the fees to their families. I’m proud of him for serving those who were able to serve more directly.
Thank you to all who have served.
My dad was a World War I veteran who was in the thick of trench combat for 14 months including four of the war’s bloodiest battles that climaxed in the battle of the Meuse Argonne which brought on the 1918 Armistice. Dad returned without any apparent injuries or emotional problems and I didn’t think he was different from the the fathers of my closest friends who never saw combat. It was only when I saw videos of veterans from more recent wars who talked about their struggles with PTSD that I fully sensed what my dad and what most of those in combat during the First World War must have felt from this traumatic experience.
The big difference is that my dad would never talk about or even acknowledge his experiences during the War. For some inexplicable reason, he told me a few months before his death that he wanted to talk about these experiences. We sat down together one afternoon over a 5rh of Jack Daniels when the rest of the family was out of the house. He recounted step by step just how awful the experience was. The one event that is permanently etched in my memory included the time he and some of his buddies were walking back to the main trenches after being on patrol and they passed an open pit where the bodies of those killed in action were placed before final removal from the battlefront. One of the men he was with noticed that a soldier they knew was in the trench and that his body was moving. “My God, he’s still alive” my dad shouted, “we’ve got to get him out of there”. At that moment, a rat gnawed it’s way out of the dead man’s mouth. That’s one of the few times I saw my dad get emotional when he said “the day you left for the Navy, I just prayed that you would never see what I saw.”
Dad was flawed like we all are, but he did many things for the right reason. He left the VFW in the early 50’s when the organization condemned Harry Truman for firing Douglas MacArthur. Dad thought MacArthur was a “showboat” and a “horse’s ass”. He also loved George McGovern because McGovern flew more than 30 missions over the 3rd Reich, but never talked much about it and because McGovern had the courage to oppose a war that should never have been fought. I never asked him if he felt the same about World War I and he never offered an opinion one way or another. He was incensed when anyone glorified war or combat and noted that it was most often uttered by those that never experienced it directly.
I could never emulate Bob’s writing; only admire it as well as his thoughts. But here goes..
My grandfather, Admiral Jean Odend’hal was representing the French Navy in WWII in London at the end of May 1940. He said how upset he was to discover that Operation Dynamo (to evacuate British troops from Dunkirk) was already started with the boats being readied in Dover. He always said the lack of communication from the British showed total disrespect for their allies since the French were still busy reinforcing the port, not ready to abandon the fight; it cost many additional French lives.
Another episode of the war that rankled for my grandfather and our family was Mers-el-Kebir, 3 July 1040. He had the word of honor from First Sea Lord Admiral Pound that no action would be attempted against the French fleet; the French had given their word that their fleet would never be taken by the Germans. But Churchill was suspicious and worried that if the Germans got the French fleet, it would be the end of the British Isles. So Churchill gave the order to destroy the part of the fleet that was holed up in Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria. Imagine being attacked by your ally!
During all of my growing up years, many Sunday afternoons were consumed with regrets and hypotheses on what could have been said or done differently, usually with other generals or admirals for lunch. My father was himself a Navy officer, also serving his country in WWII, instilling in us that keeping our word was the duty of officers’ children. He did not talk about his personal experiences but recently we found a journal entry before battle, ending with “May God give me courage to fight for my country”.
This past summer, I saw plaques in the streets of Brest, France, celebrating the arrival of American troops 100 years plus before. Also, a plaque celebrating President Wilson arriving in Brest, first American base in France, in December 1918.
This American citizen (now) is feeling grateful to veterans, never forgetting how damaging war can me for them and those surrounding them.
Isabelle. Thanks for the kind comments that are fully reciprocated for your fascinating piece here. It’s fortunate you had your grandfather’s remembrances because the French take on early World War 2 events never made it to high visibility over here until quite recently In the early 1960’s, I was with a Naval intelligence unit stationed at a Naval air base in Morocco where there was also a continuing French presence. There was almost no contact between American and French naval personnel, but I managed to hit it off with several of the French officers. Wild, wild parties at the French Officer’s Club. There was still deep bitterness for Mers-el Kebir more than 20 years after it happened. They didn’t blame me because we weren’t in the war at the time of Mers-el-Kebir or the British withdrawal from Dunkirk. I think my dad could have readily used your father’s comment about country and courage.