But I learned many years ago about another kind of battle these men faced as they worked their way around Europe and other places on earth. They fought a battle they didn’t even know they were waging.
I lived for a year in West Germany and made friends with a German woman who had lived through World War II. Her husband was suddenly impressed into service and sent to Denmark.
At that time, she was expecting a child.
As the war was winding down, she was staying in a small apartment and her delivery time was getting close. She had learned that the Germans were losing the war and the Americans were moving from town to town clearing out the last German fighters.
One day, she learned that the Americans were entering her town and everyone in the apartment building was leaving. Because of her condition, she was not able to travel as the baby was well on its way.
Lying in bed, she could hear the Americans moving through the town and entering buildings. There she was, young, by herself, and without food or companions.
Her water had broken so the baby was coming.
Alone and afraid, she heard American soldiers enter her building. She heard them entering apartments on the first floor and then she heard boots coming up the stairs.
Suddenly, her door opened and she saw two fully armed American GIs. They spoke no German and she spoke no English. She thought they would kill her.
But, she told me, the two soldiers spoke briefly with each other and then one left. The other soldier stood in the doorway with his gun.
In a few minutes, she heard steps on the stairs again and the second soldier reappeared. Behind him were two other American soldiers, both were medics. The two medics came into the room and the original two soldiers left.
The medics delivered her son (when I knew him he was a handsome young man) and brought her medical supplies, food and water, and other things she needed. As long as they were in town, the American soldiers watched after her and kept her supplied with whatever she needed.
When she told this story to me, she said she learned that day how good the Americans were and she had loved them ever since.
Winning the hearts of your enemy is a battle that every soldier fights, often without even thinking about it.
But, just between you and me, I believe that a gigantic portion of America’s fighting men have big hearts and bellies full of courage.
(Kay Hively is a historian, author, and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.)
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Kay Hively's book I'll Fly Away: The Life Story of Albert E. Brumley is available from Amazon.com
1 comment:
For the very large majority American soldiers are exactly as described. In VN I saw only a few examples of the "bad apples" with most being the model of a giving and caring person. It was hard for the line infantry person as they had to sort through the citizens wondering if they were "friendly or enemy". Many, too many had lost a buddy because they tried and wanted to do the right thing and got shot or blown up. It is hard to hold grudges against Vietnamese as we were their for the most part against our will, soldiers, but it is against any rational and caring person to destroy rice fields, kill water buffalo, burn huts and in some cases kill very young children because they did carry grenades. The good stories hopefully outweigh the bad ones and the worse story is why do humans have such a penchant for killing other humans? Very few animals kill their like kind, but humans have managed to take it the highest level never imagined before and we seem to revel in that fact. We are a strange being/animal to crawl across a beautiful orb rotating in space. Wonder if more of us are in the other billions of globes of dust or waiting for their own big bang to happen. Stupid humans.
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