6 WORLD WAR 2 HEROES TO REMEMBER THIS
MEMORIAL DAY
These 6 WW2 heroes each gave
their "last full measure of devotion" to their country, to freedom,
and most importantly -- to us. Let's remember them together.
I’ve
got a pet peeve…
Memorial Day has become summer’s kick
off. A long weekend for camping and BBQs and, of course, fantastic sales.
But . . . Memorial Day is supposed to be
a day to honor and mourn those who’ve died serving our country.
We live in relatively peaceful times.
More than 405,000 American servicemen and women died during WW2.
Compare that to less than 7,000 combat deaths since
2000.
Of course each death is tragic. But
combine the relatively low number of recent combat deaths with the decades
since WW2, Korea, and Vietnam.
And I wonder if many people don’t even
know of someone to remember on Memorial Day.
So here are 6 WW2 heroes who each gave
their “last full measure of devotion” to their country, to freedom, and most
importantly — to us.
Let’s remember them together.
Harry
Whitman — 7 Hellish Experiences as a POW during WW2
The relentless May sun made the pavement
as hot as hell. But all POWs were required to march. Even the sick ones.
It was a rule enforced by the bayonet
end of guards’ guns.
So malaria-ridden Ensign Harry Whitman
stumbled his way through Manila that May afternoon in 1942. But his fever
worsened. He became delirious. And soon collapsed on the roadside, shivering
violently.
Japanese guards were to him in moments,
their bayonets flashing in the unforgiving sun.
This was the beginning of a nearly 3-year struggle for life that
would end in not 1 but 2 tragic ship wrecks —
at the hands of his American allies.
Read Harry Whitman’s story here.
Alton
Hall — Declassified Docs Reveal the Truth of His Death
An air raid alert sounded at the Sakura
Military Hospital in Manila, Philippines.
It was 5:30 am. Sunday, November 19,
1944.
American lanes arrived from all
directions. The Yanks were coming. And that bolstered hope. Because, even
though the American prisoners were starving and sick, somehow these “Yank
visits” (air raids) were “a treat for starvation.”
But not every American was excited.
No, in a quiet, dark corner, covered by
mosquito nets in the fly-infested hospital lay 30-year-old sailor Alton Henry
Hall.
And his story would lay, undiscovered, with in classified WW2 documents for more than 70 years.
Adolphus
Hutchison — Attacked by an American WW2 Submarine
Bombing runs became commonplace as
Japanese swiftly and strategically overran The Philippines in late 1941.
So, with commanding USS Canopus’s Engine Room
on his mind, Machinist Adolphus Hutchison perhaps didn’t take much notice of
approaching aircraft.
But he definitely felt their
repercussions.
An armor-piercing bomb tore through the
Engine Room, breaking pipes that sprayed scalding steam, oil, and other
throughout the close quarters.
He was injured immediately.
Incapacitated. Badly wounded.
Ship bombings would become a theme of
Machinist Hutchison’s WW2 experience.
He had survived this first one. Could he survive a second at the hands of the USS Shark — an American submarine?
Read Adolphus Hutchison’s story now.
Frank
Bridget — Kick-ass Army Man Who Prevented Bataan’s Early Fall
In January 1942, 44-year old naval
aviator Frank Bridget realized something.
A flaw.
An oversight.
An imperfection that could cost the
Americans the war, or at least The Philippines.
So he took action and assembled a
rag-tag team of American sailors into a jungle fighting squad — that single
handedly confused the enemy and prevented the early fall of Bataan.
His leadership and tenacity continued
through the next 3 years as a prisoner of war — up until the unbelievably
horrific experience that took his remarkable life.
Read Frank Bridget’s story now.
Lynn
Weeman — The Tragic Death of a Bataan Rescuer
All around Lynn Weeman, flashes of light
illuminated the dark, nearly moonless night as Allied troops on Bataan
destroyed supplies and ammunition — not wanting them to fall into enemy hands.
US forces wouldn’t hold out till
morning. Surrender was imminent.
But not for Weeman. He’d already had go
ahead to retreat to “The Rock” — an American military base on
Corregidor island.
But first, he had to rescue US Navy
demolition squads exploding those storage tunnels on Bataan.
Pick up these men, then high-tail it to
Corregidor island.
Suddenly the hillside in front of him erupted in a gigantic, earth-shattering explosion.
Read Lynn Weeman’s story here.
Norman
Hinckley — After 7 Decades, the Truth of His Death Is Finally Revealed
At 10:15 in the morning of May 4, 1943,
a Japanese burial party appraoched the American military hospital in Manlia.
They carried a sealed box, which
contained the remains of 26-year-old PFC Norman Hinckley.
But if the American’s wanted details of
Hinckley’s death, they were disappointed. Those mid-morning visitors offered no
information.
An American chaplain conducted a burial
service, and PFC Hinckley was laid to rest in the U.S. naval hospital’s burial
plot.
And they created a report of death,
stating that Hinckley’s cause of death was “Unknown.” And this was likely the
only death information provided to his parents and sisters.
But was that the truth? Was it really
possible that no one knew how Hinckley had died?
No. Of course not.
The truth was out there. But it would be 75+ years until the story was known.
No comments:
Post a Comment