EDITOR’S NOTE: Every year on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, I share “My Father’s War Stories From World War II” as my small way of paying honor to those who’ve served and/or paid the ultimate price in service to their country.  Links to each of the 12 segments appear below.  Each is accompanied by a brief excerpt of what you’ll find in the segment written by my father who served as a low-ranking enlisted man in the U.S. Army during World War II.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part One — With the shells streaking above us as we stood there waiting to move out, the hair literally stood up on the back of my neck. This feeling soon passed.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Two — If one were to compare them to anything, it would have been to the war cartoons of the “zombie-like” soldiers drawn by cartoonist Bill Mauldin.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Three — In time of battle, the expected lifespan of a machine gunner was measured in minutes. Roughly the same time span was listed for the life of a messenger while actively carrying out his duties during combat.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Four — The weather was cold and rainy, resulting in much misery on both sides and barely passable secondary roads.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Five — The adrenalin coursed through our bodies. But we were as ready as we ever would be. I had spent about one and one-half years preparing for this while many others in our outfit had more time in the service than that.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Six — “Have I been hit already?” Then a second thought: “How badly am I wounded?”

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Seven — I thought about how simple it was to dispose of a man’s life because he was an annoyance.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Eight — We had been warned to always have a buddy to cover us, but I had no partner. I was a messenger, a Lone Ranger without a Tonto.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Nine — Our side fired without mercy at them and those not killed were forced to withdraw.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Ten — Upstairs, the morning was beautiful, lots of sunshine and everything was nice and quiet. Then I heard the “swish” of one lone motor shell.

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Eleven — Everyone had already hit the brick street, and it was as quiet as could be expected for a sergeant who kept yelling, “Stay down! Everybody stay down!”

• My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Twelve — My right foot went numb as though something heavy had dropped on it. I looked at it and could see a hole in the top of my shoe on my right foot. The shell fragment had nearly severed the toe next to my big toe and broke the smaller one next to it. Both pant legs were slit in three or four places by the fragments. The one that went through my shoe had also sliced the skin on the calf of my right leg before taking off my toe.

Thanks in advance for sharing this post, especially with young people who might not be familiar with the sacrifices of those who serve and have served.