Happy 100th Birthday X2!

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Well, this picture is not the best, but it's the story that counts. A week or two ago, at a monthly veterans luncheon we got to celebrate 200 years of birthdays between TWO wonderful veterans: Mr. Santiago Diaz and Mr. Emmett Tiner. For an hour after the lunch we listened to some pretty fabulous stories from their life. After losing a son to malnutrition, Mr. Diaz (pictured) parents emigrated to the US from Mexico when he as 4 months old, hoping to get a new start on life. He was 28 years old, married, and with a 6-month old son when he enlisted in the army in 1943. His wish was to help and protect the country that had given his family a new life. He served in the Pacific at Guadalcanal as a medic attached to the Malaria prevention team. Malaria was a worse killer than combat during the war, and took many many lives. Mr. Diaz dealt with many cases, preforming his duty well and saving countless lives. In 1945, just before the end of he war, one of his proudest moments came: he received his US citizenship.

The other birthday boy, Mr. Tiner, (not in the photo but a very handsome fella) related one story from the Marshall Islands Campaign. After the tremendous capture of Gai Island (which happened to be the first Japanese controlled island we captured during the war, and a whole story in of itself) his parents were listening to the radio one evening, with no idea where their son was. "Kate Smith had a nation-wide radio broadcast once a week. And while my parents at home on the farm had no idea where they were listening and they listened to Kate Smith, and she said, "The selected soldier of the week Lt. Emmett Tiner who put the flag on the first Japanese territory of the war."" What a proud moment for them and all of America! Happy 100th birthday to Mr. Diaz and Mr. Tiner. We wish you many more years of happiness!

Dachau Liberator

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When we first met Mr. Birney "Chick" Havey at an airshow last fall, we asked him where the "Chick" came from in his name. "In the army, everyone got a nickname," he said, "they were all 'Bud' or 'Tom" or something like that, so I went by "Chick."' We talked with Mr. Havey for a while; he showed us his "artifacts" collected during the war. A German dagger, German medals (including an iron cross), German patches, and numerous other fascinating objects. Later in the day a lady came up to us and said, "Did you know Birney Havey was one of the first men into the gates of Dachau?" Goodness! This had not even been brought up. We went back to Mr. Havey and he willingly obliged our questions, even pulling out some photos he had taken. 

Arriving in Europe just in time for the Battle of the Bulge, Mr. Havey had seen plenty of fighting and death by the time he reached  Dachau; but despite the natural hardness that come with combat, the sight he saw that day, April 25, 1945, was enough to turn the strongest man's stomach sick. His anti-tank unit came in through the back, discovering around 300 train car-loads of dead and rotting bodies. He said of all those prisoners, they only found one alive. From there they went into the camp, and the horror did not abate much. He saw "people living inside post office-like slots, three or four in each hole. They were alive, but some were dying in there, others were too weak to get out." Rounding up several of the SS still in the camp, they lined them up and shot them. Mr. Havey only stayed in the area a day and a half before his unit moved forward, but that day left permanent mark in his mind, and no doubt brought renewed meaning to the reason he was fighting. 

An Unabashed Promotion of the Honor Flight Program

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Some folks have asked us how we find ways to meet veterans, and though it is pretty broad, probably the best answer is Honor Flight. Honor Flight's mission is to bring veterans free of charge to their memorials in D.C. It is often times a life changing experience for these dear veterans, opening the door for them to speak about the war for the first time, bringing closure to the years of silent pain they endured as they wondered "Why me? Why did I make it out all right and so many didn't?" Through the HF program, we have had the most incredible opportunities for meeting the most wonderful people.

Last year, we went to the WWII Memorial in D.C. for a week to greet Honor Flights, the climax being a special Super Saturday when over 500 WWII veterans arrived at the Memorial on one day. For hours, busses of WWII veterans from all over the country arrived en masse. One from New York was hard to miss with their strong Yonkers accents and high energy. Another from Colorado came bringing a dignified excitement. Tennessee's veterans were country boys, with their deep southern accents. And if you had read the list of names from the Ohio flight, you would have known instantly that most of the veterans were first generation Americans. All ages (86-104), all backgrounds; such a diversity and such an experience! Some of the dear friends we made that day we would never have met had they not been brought together from all four corners of the U.S. through the wonderful people at Honor Flight. Each state has several hubs which send flights off at different times of the year.

For veteran and volunteer alike, it is truly a life-changing experience. If you can't be a guardian, at least come out to one of the HF "Welcome Home" celebrations. It is an awesome and emotional event; guaranteed you will not be the same!

"I couldn't move forward, I couldn't move backwards"

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The other week Jubilee and I popped up to Virginia Beach for the 5th Marine Division Reunion, one of our favorite weekends ever! For three days we were surrounded by the manliest set of Marines with truly harrowing stories of combat on Iwo Jima to tell.

"See that Corsair (above), I was lying in the sand on red beach, D-Day [Iwo Jima]. I couldn't move forward, I couldn't move backwards. We were completely pinned down. I looked up, and there flying over me was a Corsair firing on the enemy. At that moment, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life."

Two Marines discuss the differences in their bootcamp training.

Another Marine said, "I wrote the battlefield reports for my Company: every casualty we had on Iwo Jima. I was one of only three other men in my Company of 145 men to come off the island without a scratch."

"You don't lose many friends in the Motor Transport... but I lost a few." These words were said with great meaning. 

Two life-long friends and war buddies. 

"I was buried alive on the island, and this guy here (pointing to his friend standing by), dug me out and saved my life. That was right before he lost his leg."

Quotes like this and many more are what we heard. Hard gritty stuff, humorous anecdotes, and tearful remembrances of comrades lost. It was a very special experience for Jube and me to be surrounded by such grand men and soldiers. Every man there had a story that would make any loyal American's heart soar with pride and gratitude. 

Combat Medic and Paratrooper

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Leon Jedziniak was a replacement medic for A Company, 501st PIR, 101st Airborne Division. On December 18, 1944, he arrived in Bastogne, Belgium and dug in. The requirements for being a medic were not strict and you didn't have to know much. "There’s only one thing you need to remember," he was told, "Never put the tourniquet around the neck." His first day of action, after going to retrieve a wounded man and nearly getting killed himself, the priest who had accompanied him offered to put him in for the Silver Star. The next day the priest was captured by the Germans and didn't see him again for 31 years. No Silver Star, but he would receive multiple Bronze Stars for his courageous actions, as well as a purple heart. The role of the combat medic in WWII was vital. So many veterans have told us that for them, the true heroes were the medics. Without their bravery and total disregarded of self, many many lives would have been unnecessarily lost. It is always a great honor to meet one of these brave men who served their country and fellow soldiers so well.

Invasion of Salerno Anniversary

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In the early morning of September 9, 1943, the 36th infantry division landed on the shores of Salerno, in a move to entirely push the Germans out of Italy. Last week commemorated the 72nd anniversary of this invasion. On a corner of one of the main streets in downtown San Antonio, by the 141st Infantry regiment monument (36th div), two veterans of this significant campaign were joined by their families and a few friends to remember the day, and the friends who never made it home. We were greatly moved as they recounted stories of the invasion as if it happened yesterday. Their comrades in arms may have been at rest for 72 years, but their names and faces will never be forgotten by these two 36th Div. men.