NOVEMBER 8, 2015
Lauderdale: World War II veterans get a Hilton Head salute 70 years after end of the war
They're old men now.
They were children, some as young as 17, when they roared off to serve in World War II.
Bodies were flexible and patriotism was afire. They wanted to do their part after a stunning Sunday that lives in infamy, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
They didn't seem to care that it would force them to grow up in a hurry if they got to grow up at all.
Four years later, they were much different people when a famous photograph of a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square celebrated the war's end.
They had seen a lot that they shouldn't have seen as U.S. service personnel deaths averaged 220 per day, and an estimated 60 million to 80 million people were killed worldwide. That doesn't count the physical and emotional wounds.
As the nation commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of the war this year, and Veterans Day this week, Hilton Head Island took a couple of hours Friday afternoon to honor its veterans of World War II.
Twenty-two were cited at a luncheon at the Sea Pines Country Club presented by the Princeton Club of Hilton Head.
All but a few were able to attend. They know all about reunions and honors and know there won't be many more of them.
They know they're lucky that their creaky bodies are still above ground. And they know they're lucky to be Americans.
"We saved the world," one told me.
'I GREW UP'
Princeton sent 573 members of its class of 1942 into the war, Lisa Drakeman told the group.
That included John "Tex" Farrington of Hilton Head, who described seeing Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after the atomic bombs fell to end the war in the Pacific.
"It was a very sad sight to watch," he said. "There were no ashes."
He said the eerie sight immediately ended years of ingrained hatred of the Japanese.
And he said, "One of the worst things mankind created was the atom bomb."
At 95, he worries about nuclear proliferation.
He and other old soldiers worry that history forgotten will be history repeated.
Hilton Head Island High School Navy Jr. ROTC cadets sensed the moment as they presented Colors and saluted each veteran.
Gordon Grant of Hilton Head joined the Navy right out of high school in New York.
He remembers riding a train into the city to join the service. He wanted the Navy because he'd have a bunk each night and would not have to sleep on the ground.
He got home and told his mother he'd joined. He was her only child. She asked when he would leave. He said tomorrow night.
Grant became a corpsman. He said that came after spending four years in high school staring out the window.
"I grew up," Grant said.
He came home and sold ads for the New York Herald Tribune and later owned a restaurant where his secret was to hire European chefs. He retired to Hilton Head and lives near his son, who he calls his best friend.
Rabbi Arthur Segal of Hilton Head said in his invocation:
"Oh Blessed One: Rekindle within us a flame of selfless, unwavering devotion to duty, that we may never be found wanting in those qualities of spirit and mind."
'YOUTH AND STRENGTH'
One of them saw a mushroom cloud. One saw it snow in Rome.
Mary Woomansee Green read words her husband, U.S. Navy veteran Howard Green, wrote about World War II. He wrote of tracers, torpedoes, smoke and explosions. He said PT boats did as much as anything to win the war.
Peggy Daugherty came with a copy of her late husband's book, "On Hostile Shores," in case anyone questioned why she was there. Sam Daugherty landed in Normandy at 9:30 a.m. on D-Day. He wrote 200 pages for his family but did not live to see it published.
Stanley Richards from Sun City Hilton Head was a Marine at 17. He asked, "Have you ever heard of Carlson's Raiders?" He was in that forerunner to special forces, then was a turret gunner in B-25s in the Solomon Islands.
He didn't want to talk about it. His eyes welled up as he tried to make it simple for a guy too young to have fought in Vietnam. There were 12 planes in his squadron. In 18 months, they lost six planes and six crews. That's 36 people.
The veterans and other guests sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." The old men raised their hands, sometimes with the help of a wife, when the Port Royal Sound Vocals sang all the service songs.
Retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Art Brown of Hilton Head quoted Gen. Douglas MacArthur on the American man-at-arms.
"His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen," Brown read. "In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give."
He read the names of the local World War II veterans honored:
Walter Bachman, Paul Bohn, Bill Bondanza, Ward Bryan, Tony Cocchini, Joe Eagers, John "Tex" Farrington, Dr. James Fields, Joseph Frome, Ralph Gari, John Gehrett, Gordon Grant, Howard Green, Jim Kelly, David Trent Leighton, John McKinley, Newell "Mitch" Mitchell, Bill Rathmann, Stanley Richards, Dr. Richard Stuller, Walter Szuba and Jack Young.
They each were given a memento from the National World War II Memorial.
When Art Brown called Jack Young's name, the veterans laughed when he quipped, "You're the first general to ever say my name."
And then the old men were ready to go home.
Follow columnist and senior editor David Lauderdale at twitter.com/ThatsLauderdale andfacebook.com/david.lauderdale.16.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: VETERAN'S DAY INVOCATION: HILTON HEAD ISLAND: PRINCETON CLUB
Princeton Veterans' Day Luncheon Celebration: Friday November 6, 2015,
12:30 PM, Sea Pines Country Club
INVOCATION AND BENEDICTION
Rabbi Dr Arthur Segal, Hilton Head Island, SC
Good Afternoon beloved Friends:
Dear Eternal Source of All: We gather together today to honor, and to learn from, the experiences of this esteemed panel of veterans. This wisdom was gained during their time in service, for our great nation, during the Second World War.
We thank you, dear God, for bringing them, and others from this Greatest Generation, and all veterans, home safely , and to Old Nassau.
We show honor and thanks, before you Almighty One, to those who sacrificed during times of war, in order that we might have liberty and freedom and security. We ask You, Heavenly Parent, to bless all Veterans, both living and dead, who fought on the land, in the air, and on the seas. We ask for blessings as well, for the men and women, in labor and industry, who provided the machinery and weapons for this great battle called World War Two. Let us not forget those who served in all actions, in defense of our freedom, liberty, democracy, and American way of life.
Oh Blessed One: Rekindle within us a flame of selfless, unwavering devotion to duty, that we may never be found wanting, in those qualities of spirit and mind. These are necessary to preserve our homes, our communities, and the peace of our Nation. Keep our memories alive with GRATITUDE, and our gratitude alive with our FAITHFULNESS to the principles which made our Nation great. Grant, we pray, joy and fulfillment, to those Veterans and their families still living. And for those who are at rest, grant Your infinite peace.
For all our efforts to say "thanks", and all our commitment to help our veterans recover their lives once they return , in the end we cannot do nearly enough. No governmental service, can repay all that they have lost. No holiday in their honor, can make up for the years lost, the innocence lost, the loves, limbs and lives lost. We cannot do enough. "Thank you" is too easy and too slight a return.
But we can pray for our veterans. We can ask God to make up the balance, to cover the debts we as a society can never make up. We can pray and ask for blessings beyond our human treasure.
God, we thank you for commissioning men and women in the defense of freedom. We honor those who protect us, in many cases laying down their lives, that we might live free to pursue our own destiny. Every soldier takes an oath knowing they may be called upon to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Lord, we cannot repay this gift they give us. For those who have suffered, as a result of their sacrifice, we ask for divine healing, favor, and peace. Lift from them the cares and burdens of violence. When they return home, give them opportunities to fulfill their own potentials and dreams. Open doors for them, even when some doors are closed. Dear God, please bless our veterans.
Eternal God, you alone rule the destinies of nations. You have deemed that all humans should live together in peace. Peace is the channel, though with all of your benevolence flows to us. Without peace, we cannot enjoy life to its fullest. Help us honor our veterans by working toward a time when nations will not lift up sword against nation, and neither will humans wage war any more. Help us learn to love peace, and pursue peace, with even greater resolve and resources, that we use to pursue war.
Oh Maker of Peace in the heavens, make peace for the United States of America, and the entire world, and let us say Amen.
Blessed are you Lord our God, king of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth. And let us say Amen. May God bless and keep all of us, and may God continue to bless and keep America. Thank you.
REBBETZIN ELLEN SEGAL
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.com/books www.FaceBook.com/Arthur.L.Segal www.FaceBook.com/RabbiArthurSegalJewishSpiritualRenewal www.RabbiArthurSegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.com/books www.FaceBook.com/Arthur.L.Segal www.FaceBook.com/RabbiArthurSegalJewishSpiritualRenewal www.RabbiArthurSegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA
