Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 4:42 a.m.
Almost 70 years have passed since I learned about the Civil War from veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. They were then three old men who lived either by themselves or with relatives. One of them had his quarters above a huge granary just a stone's toss from the Mississippi River. All of them led separate lives, but their common experiences in battle brought them together. I benefited from their willingness to tell about experiences that included the battle at Gettysburg. They lighted a fire that made me seek more historical information about the Civil War and other chapters of American life.
My father and his friends would visit about their experiences during World War I, which had ended only 15 or 16 years earlier. When they were talking I would crawl out of my bed and quietly sit on the stair steps listening to their experiences. The curiosity they raised in my mind kept me asking questions of every WW I veteran. The late Fred Rinker of Henderson was the last man who told me of his experiences and kept my attention about what many old-timers called the Great War.
Rinker was a U.S. Marine at Belleau Wood, where his battalion went into battle with 965 men and 26 officers. Several days later Lt. Col. Frederic M. Wise wrote, "Now before me stood 350 men and six officers. For 17 days they hadn't had a hot cup of coffee or a bite of hot food. They hadn't taken off their shoes. They hadn't had a chance to wash their faces, even drinking water had been scarce for days." During World War II Fred served in the U.S. Army.
I had the good fortune to live through WW II and had the opportunity to serve as an infantryman during the Korean War. Most of what I learned about WW II was from the friends and relatives who fought it.
The recent television miniseries "Band of Brothers" on HBO was raw history of one company of the 101st Airborne Division from D-Day invasion until the end of the war. This was an excellent presentation with many of the combat veterans also interviewed. My uncle, Jack Bennetts, served with that Screaming Eagle Division. Only a few doors from my house is George Brookman, who fought the Japanese in the Pacific islands as a platoon leader during WW II. His infantry war was the same, but yet very different than the war fought in Europe.
Following Korea came our nation's longest war, which was fought in Vietnam. Again it was a bloody and tough fight in the air and in the swampy jungles, where Americans went to do a job and in reality did it very well. It's too bad many of their fellow Americans at home didn't perform as well.
Then came several small scrapes and eventually the Gulf War, which was big, but thanks to the Air Force, not of long duration. Today we are calling on our military men and women to answer a challenge brought directly into our homes. Their experiences here and abroad will be the glue which makes us a strong nation when meeting future challenges during this century. In one sense it is the continuation of the Gulf War, which wasn't finished in 1991.
So today, as new veterans are answering the call of their country, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation by giving them the support they should expect from a grateful nation.
A hearty thanks is extended to the millions of American men and women who have served and returned home to make a stronger nation for present and future generations. Today is your day.
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