Faith | World War II friends made a promise they kept as veterans
Each year on Nov. 11 we celebrate Veterans Day, originally called “Armistice Day” commemorating the truce signed between the Allies and Germany in 1918. At the time, the war was known as “The Great War,” and was regarded as the war to end all wars.
Veterans Day reminds me to appreciate our veterans for their sacrifice, and honor those who gave their tomorrows so that I could live today with freedom in the greatest nation.
The Revolutionary War was fought to gain our independence from England’s tyranny, the Civil War to preserve the Union and end slavery, and both World Wars to prevent widespread tyranny and preserve freedom. Even though the Civil War resulted in the most American casualties, World War II was the most deadly overall in the world with an estimated 70 million fatalities.
My dad, Marion Walter, and my future uncle, Eugene “Bud” Houck, were good friends and worked together as carpenters before WWII. They were both 21 when inducted into the service, each in a different branch of the military.
Dad went into the U.S. Navy’s newly formed Seabees doing construction work, while Bud served as a tank driver under General George Patton in the U.S. Army, whom he met twice and greatly admired.
The two friends agreed to meet after the war.
After fighting in North Africa and Sicily, and then fighting the length of Italy tragedy struck on May 17, 1944. Bud and his fellow crewman were walking back to headquarters, following the loss of their tank, when Bud inadvertently stepped on a German S mine, referred to by U.S. troops as a “Bouncing Betty.”
When triggered, the S mine propels itself out of the ground upward to about waist high, and then the main charge goes off, firing shrapnel in all directions. Upon stepping on the mine, Bud instinctively yelled, “hit the dirt” as he dove to the ground and took shrapnel in his legs and back, but survived. Unfortunately, his tank buddy behind him was killed.
Bud spent three months recuperating at the General Hospital in Naples, Italy, before going to a rehabilitation facility in California. He was then discharged Nov. 1, 1944, with numerous medals. And even though the doctors got most of the shrapnel out, some was so close to his spine that he had to live with it until the day he died, over 60 years later.
During the war, my dad had watched the invasion of Guam in 1944 from an offshore ship. He then buried the dead, helped build a radio station and other projects, along with being assigned guard duty. Surprisingly, an estimated eight thousand Japanese soldiers continued to live on Guam in the jungle throughout the war.
Dad said that every day he could see the Japanese soldiers raise and lower their flag on the nearby island of Rota. Amazingly, the last Japanese soldier on Guam to surrender was in 1972 – 12 years after the war ended. The man was 56 when discovered.
After the war the two friends, now veterans, met up as promised and Bud introduced Marion to his younger sister, Margret. The couple married in 1946, and my mom and dad lived to see their 70th wedding anniversary.
The war was now in the rearview mirror, but many soldiers had sacrificed much, including their lives, to promote peace through strength so that we could freely live our lives.
When I think of freedom and sacrifice, I also think of Jesus Christ who gave us freedom from the bonds of sin. He sacrificed himself on our behalf by being unjustly, and brutally, crucified on a Roman cross. He did this for you and me out of love. As our risen Savior, we can be made righteous through him and have a relationship with him, forgiven of all our sins.
There is freedom in Jesus.
Lee Walter is Sunday School superintendent at Columbia Bible Church in Kennewick. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.