A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “The Almighty tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he’s pretty sure you’re … ‘screwed’…”?
3. Who sang (and what song) the following?
   Stiff all in the collar, fluffy in the face
   Chit chat chatter tryin’, stuffy in the place
   Thank you for the party but I could never stay
   Many things on my mind, words in the way

My father was a World War II Army veteran. I’m a United States Navy veteran. I’m also of that “Baby Boomer” generation. Two different generations… two different wars.

V-E Day was this past week; for those few who don’t know, the Germans surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945… the next day, May 8, 1945, was declared “Victory in Europe” Day and continues to be celebrated. Usually, there are many celebrations throughout Europe this time of the year, but because of COVID, those celebrations were canceled last year and again, this year.

For the “perfectionists” reading this: After Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, Germany’s surrender was authorized by his successor, Reichspraisident Karl Donitz. The administration headed by Donitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of military surrender was first signed at 01:41 on 7 May 1945 in SHAEF Headquarters at Reims, France, and a slightly modified document, considered the definitive German Instrument of Surrender, was signed on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin at 21:20 local time.

Still… these are things we should Never Forget.

Austria 1945

My dad’s unit was in Austria when General Eisenhower’s Order to cease-fire came down the channels. If you haven’t read General Eisenhower’s Orders yet, here they are:

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces
Eisenhower’s General Order

1. A representative of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command at 0141 Hours, Central European Time, 7 May 1945, under which all forces will cease active operations at 0001 Hours, 9 May 1945.
2. Effective immediately all offensive operations by Allied Expeditionary Forces will cease and troops will remain in their present positions. Moves involved in occupational duties will continue. Due to the difficulties of communication there may be some delay in similar orders reaching the enemy troops, so full defensive precautions will be taken.
3. All informed, down to and including Divisions, Tactical Air Commands, and Group and Base Sections and Equivalent. No release will be made to the press pending an announcement by the heads of the three Governments.

Eisenhower

During my brief four years in the Navy, 1973-77, while I know the war ended in Europe in May 1945, I don’t recall V-E Day celebrations. Perhaps that’s because my duty stations were in the Pacific, first at NAS Agana, Guam (’73-75), then aboard USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63 (’75-77). I remind myself all the time that while the war in Europe ended in May 1945, the war in the Pacific was still raging… until September 1945. But that’s another story.

When I first joined the Navy, the United States was still at war with Vietnam. I’m a “Vietnam-era” veteran, but the closest I came to Vietnamese were the refugees on Grande Island, Philippines, while on Shore Patrol duty during Westpac ’75.

I make that personal distinction because many of my Navy, Marine, Army, & Air Force veteran friends did serve in Vietnam… in-country… and some of them still struggle. I take my hat off to these brave men & women and try to give them the respect they so richly deserve.

My Dad’s WWII Diary

During my growing up years, my dad never talked about WWII—it wasn’t a subject he wanted to bring up. Many of my other baby boomer friends reported the same.

When my father gave me and my sister, Anne, a copy of his journal, “A World War II Diary,” for Christmas 1986, I was, in a word… “stunned.” Sure, I’d heard a few of his stories, like many of us baby boomers, but they were repeated and often embellished with a bit of wry humor.

But here… in my hands, was a typed, 200-page, double-spaced, 3-ring binder notebook—the story of the most tumultuous time in his life. I read it, re-read it, and read it again. Even these days, I still periodically read parts of it and it gives me chills to know what he and others sacrificed during the war.

We lost Pop to cancer in 1989—three days shy of his 68th birthday.

A few years later, I wrote and published You Can’t Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th ‘Blue Ridge’ Division in World War II Europe, based upon his diary (Casemate Publishers, 2005). I understood how writing this diary helped bring closure to his time during the war.

During this time of year, around V-E Day, I think back to my dad and what he may have been doing—thinking—a few days after the fighting ended.

The 80th Infantry Division

I created (and still maintain) the 80th Infantry Division website. It took a few years, but I digitized all the Division’s Morning Reports (August 1944—May 1945) and placed them online, free for anyone to download. I also digitized the General Orders, After Action Reports, and Unit Histories (at least the ones I could lay my hands on) and they too, are online—more than 150,000 pages. Yes, it was (and continues to be) a labor of love.

I also have the letters my father wrote home to his parents. I’ll tell you that his letters in 1944 & 1945 DO NOT reflect what his company did during the war or much of the fighting he and the 80th faced. I think it’s because he didn’t want his parents to worry about him—that was his generation.

Becky’s father, Dr. Rufus K. Broadaway, was of the same generation—he was 82d Airborne and dropped in behind enemy lines on D-Day. I also wrote about him earlier: “No Better Place to Die.”

Last year around this time, I wrote a blog, “Ours is a Quiet Celebration,” about the end of the war and what my dad wrote home to his parents in a letter dated 8 May 1945.

Pop served as a mortar platoon leader in a Heavy Weapons Company (317th Infantry Regiment, 2d Battalion, Company H). Toward the end of the war, he was promoted to Company Commander. His unit was in Spital-am-Pyhrn, Austria, on May 8, 1945, and remained there for almost two weeks. The daily Morning Reports “Record of Events” state that the unit “carried out training, cleaning of equipment, and maintained patrols.”

I mean, what do you with your “spare” time after spending 277 days in combat?

Letters Home

The war was “officially” over, but you now everyone was still wary—wary of the enemy who may not have gotten (or believed) word that the was was over; wary of the enemy who didn’t care if there was a war or not; any number of things. You just couldn’t switch if “off” because someone said so. You’ve seen too much fighting and too much death to lower your defenses too quickly.

Even so, Dad’s next letter home, dated 14 May 1945—a week after the fighting ended—tells it like it was, a feeling of relief.

Dear Mom,

I am really enjoying the life of a king now that the war is over. I have my company in a little mountain town in Austria. We are in a valley with snow-covered mountains all around us—even a small river flowing nearby. We have no more blackout regulations, and we turned in our steel helmets yesterday. And the wonderful part of it all is that we hear no sound of guns, and we don’t have to jump for a hole every minute. You can imagine what a relief it is after ten months of combat.

For the first time in quite a while, I have been able to enjoy nature. Today, I had to make a trip for 50 miles through the mountains. The scenery was beautiful. However, if I had made that same trip a couple of months ago, I would not have been able to enjoy it for fear that there was a sniper in every tree or a machine-gun at every crossroad.

[…]

All of my men are in nice houses with electric lights, running water, and radios. I have a nice bed with clean sheets. See what I mean by leading the life of a king?

[…]

I’m feeling swell and am very happy.

Devotedly,
Andy

A Different Generation

I look back on my time during the Navy and for the most part, I have great memories from both my duty stations. While there were a few not-so-good times, I tend to think less about those, unless something triggers a memory.

I know a lot of things about his war’s past bothered my dad, but he never seemed to let them get him down… at least, not that I noticed.

When he returned home to Florida after the war, he went back to school to earn a law degree. He was a good, “country” lawyer as he called it. But I didn’t follow that path. I instead became an electronics engineer. He often joked about my “different” career path to his friends… “my son chose to make an honest living…” And yes, that still cracks me up.

Though after a few years of “real-world” engineering, my path (i.e., my “journey”) turned to computer and technology consulting… with lawyers. I worked with lawyers and law firms for almost 30 years. I guess the apple didn’t fall that far.

When I wrote and recently published my novel, NEVER FORGET, I included several stories about my dad and about Rufus, and, of course, about me.

I mean, how could I not?

The title, NEVER FORGET, came to me when we were driving back one dark & stormy night from a fund-raiser. Nothing to do with the fund-raiser, but everything to do with our fathers, the wars they fought—both physical and mental—and the fact that Rufus had early stage Alzheimer’s. The title just came to me and… it felt right.

These are just of a few of the things that we can Never Forget. And… perhaps that’s just one reason I’m giving NEVER FORGET away to veterans.

Until we meet again,
Andy

---

Get your FREE copy of my novel, NEVER FORGET (see below).
No obligations, nothing to fill out.

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Previous posts mentioned in this blog

• #51—Shore Patrol: It’s Not Just a Job, It’s an Adventure
• #34—No Better Place to Die
• #29—May 8, 1945: Ours is a Quiet Celebration

Answers

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
2. Braveheart (1995), Stephen (David Patrick O’Hara).
3. Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself, Again (1970), Sly and the Family Stone; written by Sylvester Stewart.