Memories from WW2
As of now, there are approximately 324,329 World War 2 veterans who are still living, which is a comparatively small number being there were over 16 million who served in the war. Each day 234 veterans die, meaning it won’t be long before we have lost all these brave Americans.
Several months ago, I wrote about my father’s experience while crossing the English Channel on Christmas Eve during WW2. I received lots of positive feedback, so I decided to submit my story to Reminisce Magazine. My story appeared in the magazine’s latest edition. Little did I know that this would lead to my hearing from people connected to my father’s experience.
Several days after receiving my copy of Reminisce, I received a Facebook message from Connie Fife, a woman who resides in Kentucky. She told me her 96-year-old uncle, Jerry Carroll, was a WW2 veteran and that he had read my article in Reminisce. She went on to say that he wanted to talk to me because he was in the 66th Infantry Division, and he, too, was crossing the English Channel at the same time as my father.
I called Mr. Carroll immediately, and I had a wonderful 30-minute visit with him. He had a very vivid memory of departing for England from New York in November of 1944. He recalled being aboard the George Washington Transport ship as it crossed the Atlantic and then arriving in Southampton, England, as did my father. For the trip across the Atlantic, Jeeps and other equipment had to be packed in grease to prevent damage from the saltwater. According to Carroll, it then took weeks to remove all the grease before crossing the English Channel.
Carroll recalls having to stay with the equipment while crossing the channel because he was a tail gunner. He was below deck when the Germans torpedoed the Leopoldville, and he remembers having to go on deck after the attack.
Like my father, Carroll spoke very little about his war experiences. He said I am the first person since the war that he has spoken to who had a connection to his experience. However, every Christmas Eve, the events of that fateful night come back to him very vividly.
A few days later, I was to receive another phone call regarding my article. Mrs. Walter Weber, a Maryland native, called to say that her husband was aboard the Leopoldville on that Christmas Eve. However, he was on deck when the attack occurred, and he was able to jump ship and was rescued by another troopship. Mrs. Weber said her husband shared his story with family members every Christmas Eve for the next 38 years. She promised to write to me to share more about her husband’s experience.
I also heard from a gentleman in Louisiana who told me that his uncle lost his life when the troopship sank. I am so grateful to these people for contacting me to share their stories. So many important WW2 stories are lost each day. I hope that anyone who has a surviving WW2 veteran as a friend or family member will take the time to document their stories. They are too important to lose.
Ken Anderson, the “Mayberry Guru,” can be reached at themayberryguru@gmail.com and www.themayberryguru. com
BE OUR
G UEST
KEN ANDERSON “THE MAYBERRY GURU”
