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Veterans Day

Submitted by Gene Patterson on November 12, 2008 - 2:44am

My father - who died two years ago - was a veteran. He fought in World War II and Korea. He never spoke much about the wars. In fact, only once did he open up to me.

I was just a teenager. It was sometime in the mid-70's, and it was the anniversary of D-Day. He owned a small restaurant in Madisonville and we were working together.

He was generally a cheerful man, quick with a joke and a laugh. But on this day, he was melancholy and moody.

After our day was done, I asked him what was bothering him.

And it was then that he told me the story of hitting the beach at Normandy. And as he told me the story, his eyes welled up with tears and his voice became a whisper, barely audible.

He told me of his training in England and his new friend from New Jersey. They were part of a two-man machine gun team. The two had become fast friends.

On that June day in 1944, they were part of the second wave of soldiers who hit the heavily fortified beaches.

"Bullets were flying everywhere," my dad said. "People were dead or dying, blood was everywhere and the screams were horrible."

He said he knew he and his partner had to get off the beach, but he couldn't see a safe passage. Finally, he gestured to his partner to run with him and up they went.

But not far. Because as the two young men turned to run, machine gun fire ripped by them, barely missing my father. He turned to his buddy, to say something like, wow, that was close, when he saw that his friend was no longer there.

He'd been cut almost in two by the bullets.

He said he stood there in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

And then he ran. He ran as hard and as fast as he could. "I had to get off that beach," he said.

And after telling me the story of that day on Normandy beach, he cried.

Why had he decided to move? He asked. Why did his decision cost his friend his life? Why wasn't he killed on that beach?

I had no answer for him. I could only tell him that it wasn't his fault.

He never spoke about it again, but I think he always carried around the guilt. Survivors guilt, I guess.

God bless our veterans.

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Comments

this is very tuching and

Submitted by amber (not verified) on November 12, 2008 - 5:17pm.

this is very tuching and very sad i hope that he is happy and with his friend now

All of our dads who were in

Submitted by Bayard J. Donahoo (not verified) on November 15, 2008 - 7:54am.

All of our dads who were in WW II, are --- in some real way, brothers. My father was a forward observer who was wounded badly in Germany. He knew he should not have lived. He felt very guilty about it. The war was the most significant thing that ever happened to him.

Grinzel and Weakes were his close friends. They were lost in the Bulge. I told him I would never forget them. Your article brings the three of them back to me.

Thank you.