05/27/2023
My father once told me a story of a buddy in the 96th Infantry. He told me few stories of the horror of Okinawa, but this one is a credo to the type of American that fought for our freedom there.
This soldier was not the typical 18-20 year old enlisted man. He was in his 40s, and he had been drafted by his local draft board as many had. It was late in the war, the US fighting in Germany and in the Pacific, casualties had taken their toll on the military and drafted men were now being taken based on their physical ability to fight with no or little thought about other factors.
This man was one of those late war enlisted men. You see, he had been a coal miner in Kentucky before being drafted. He worked deep in the earth at great peril to bring energy to the American Industry building war materiel to supply the troops.
He had a wife and 6 children in Kentucky that he led the family and fed the family. His wife now had to lead that family while this man served his country.
My dad told me that this man prayed every night a loud calling for God to have mercy and enable us to end this brutal war. Dad said, in a foxhole, everyone is praying, whether they admit it or not, but this man prayed for all with fervor.
This man could not read or write, a freedom we have, to educate ourselves and our children, but in this man’s life he’d not been able to achieve that education, yet he was here fighting for that freedom for his children and those of others.
My dad said, when they did have mail from home, which during the push across Okinawa was not often, he would read this man’s letters to him, and write replies back to his wife by writing down what he wanted to say to his family.
Dad could not remember this man’s name, but he could not forget his having been there with him as an Army soldier in the 96th Division. A brave American, fighting for his family and the families of his countrymen.
Dad could not remember if this man made it home, but my dad wanted me to understand how desperate the times were, and how everyone fights a battle for all, and sacrifices for all when they put on a uniform and pick up a rifle in defense of our freedoms.
This weekend let us remember those that went to war, were wounded, or came home scarred for life, and those that paid the price for us all. Happy Memorial Day to all, paid for many like this man.
