Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
A Daughter Remembers Veterans
I can’t help it. I love veterans! I’ve been known to approach a stranger wearing a military cap, shake his hand and say, “Thank you, I appreciate your service.” I also can’t help the tears that well up in my eyes when I do this. My dad’s heroic military stories from WWII are what awakened my heart to love, honor, and respect veterans. I can’t help it. I love veterans! They are my heroes and deserve my deepest gratitude and respect.
Married in 1943, my parents were newlyweds when Dad was drafted into the Army in 1944. Although some men were desperate to see action and signed up, Dad always made it clear (to me) that he was drafted. He was willing to go to war, but it sure wasn’t on his wishlist. But once his feet hit the Rhineland in Central Europe, he was in it to win it.
Dad was in General Patton’s 90th Infantry Division, Third Army, Company B, which was used as a spearhead. These troops were sent out to a point, fighting as they advanced. Then they were to hold that position while other regiments filled in the gaps. When “Blood & Guts” Patton visited the 90th on the battlefield in Germany, he told them that although he knew they were tired, it was necessary for them to continue to fight. Patton’s tanks and troops became legendary for their success. All of our veterans are courageous and exemplary examples of a selfless life.
No doubt about it, the American soldier is ingenious. Dad said that in the winter, when the soldiers could not capture a town in which to sleep, they would make three large snowballs or “snow rolls”. Two of them were placed on each side, with the third on the windward end and then lined with pine tree branches.
Dad was given charge of a (Polish or Czech) 14-year-old boy that had been freed as a prisoner and stayed on with the troops. The kid, who could fluently speak four languages (but not English), desperately wanted to fight the Germans because they had killed his parents. One night Dad was in a foxhole and, after four hours of sleep, was to relieve the point man in the foxhole ahead of him. The boy was sent to awaken Dad, so he began excitedly yelling something other than English as he grabbed Dad’s leg to awaken him. Greatly startled and thinking the Germans had come upon him, Dad grabbed for his M-1 rifle. Not being able to find the rifle immediately in the dark saved the boy’s life! After this near-fatal incident, I happen to know for a fact that Dad gave very emphatic instructions that he was to never ever to be awakened by that boy again!
Unlike Audie Murphy, America’s most-decorated WWII soldier, Dad didn’t write an autobiography of his two-year stint on the front lines. But he could have. If I initiated the subject, he would talk about the War. But it was never something he bragged about. Rather, he wept when he recounted the details of the horrific battle in the village of Morhausen, Germany which was full of Hitler’s SS troopers. That is the night battle engagement in which he was awarded the bronze star.
I can’t help it, I love our U.S. veterans. We shall, we must, continue to honor and respect our remarkably brave men and women who serve in the military.
The Key: Let us celebrate our heroic American veterans who have fought for freedom and liberty for all.