This time last year, my father entered the hospital for the last time. He died on December 2, 2003, after a long illness. He is somewhere in this picture of the 415th Regiment, Company B, of the 104th Army taken in 1945.
I knew he commanded a small group of men, and twice lost all of them. I have some of his papers, with men's names listed, along with their rifle serial numbers. And some of those names are scratched out.
Some time after this photo was taken, all but 8 of these men in the picture above were killed in battle.
I found out that a couple of Dutch children, at 8 and 9 years old, became interested in their town's annual Liberation Day parade, and asked their parents if they could find out more about the Americans who liberated their town. That was 10 years ago, and they are still at it. They have a website dedicated to the Timberwolves, my dad's outfit, and have been corresponding with my mother about my father. If nothing else, an old woman is comforted that a new generation of kids recognizes a contribution made by the man she loved. It made me feel better for her, and for him, and for all of us.
I knew he commanded a small group of men, and twice lost all of them. I have some of his papers, with men's names listed, along with their rifle serial numbers. And some of those names are scratched out.
Some time after this photo was taken, all but 8 of these men in the picture above were killed in battle.
I found out that a couple of Dutch children, at 8 and 9 years old, became interested in their town's annual Liberation Day parade, and asked their parents if they could find out more about the Americans who liberated their town. That was 10 years ago, and they are still at it. They have a website dedicated to the Timberwolves, my dad's outfit, and have been corresponding with my mother about my father. If nothing else, an old woman is comforted that a new generation of kids recognizes a contribution made by the man she loved. It made me feel better for her, and for him, and for all of us.
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