Never Forget

Thank You Veterans

When my Uncle John passed away some years back I became recipient of an old cigar box. It was a box my Uncle John had kept in the loft where he slept in my Aunt Waundia's log farmhouse in Wetmore, Colorado.

John was my fathers oldest brother. He was the first in his family to enlist during WWII. He joined the army and was assigned to General Patton. Although he enlisted at the very beginning of the war he remained in all the way to the end.

My dad told me when John returned from the war he was forever changed. He was no longer the gentle, happy-go-lucky farm boy dad had grown up with. 

He was quiet and withdrawn. 

He remained that way for the rest of his life. 

One summer when I was about 10 I rode into town with Uncle John in his old Ford pick-up. As he drove I asked him about the war. The result was a painfully silent ride down miles of road.

The topic never came up again.

Now, in a humble little box, I found my answers.

There were medals that documented John's distinction as a marksman and decorations for heroism. 

John's discharge papers noted that he was part of the Normandy invasion and the notorious  Battle_of_the_Bulge.

We suspected John had served with valor. What we didn't know was that he had survived in the battle that claimed the highest number of American lives in the European front. 

The Spirit of American Youth Rising From The Waves

Donald De Lue

The American Cemetery Normandy

Today I send a heartfelt thanks to all of America's Uncle John's.

Never Forget.


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