by Pa Rock
Proud Son
Memorial Day is a time set aside each year when we honor the memory of our war veterans, and, in particular, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. On this somber occasion, I would like to honor the war service of my father, Sgt. Garland Macy, who was wounded during his service in World War II.
I had known that my father was wounded during the time that he served in Europe, but he didn't talk about it much, and when he passed away in 2009 I possessed very few details about the incident. Now, thanks to an article that I came across in an old issue of the Neosho Daily Democrat (Neosho, MO), I am better versed on that important event in my father's life.
The article regarding my dad ran at the top of the front page of the Neosho Daily Democrat on March 17th (St. Patrick's Day), of 1945. It was a Saturday. Almost that entire front page was dedicated to stories about the war, a global catastrophe that was quickly drawing to a close. (The war in Europe would end less than two months later.).
Included on the front page of that issue were stories about Patton's tanks rolling across Europe and the impending fall of Germany, a massive allied air raid on Japan, the proposed drafting of nurses, a proposed Missouri veterans' loan law, a notice about expiring gas coupons, labor strikes in Detroit and Hollywood, and a brief notice about the Roosevelt's 40th wedding anniversary which was that day. (FDR would be dead less than four weeks later.) There was also an advertisement from a local bank comparing the importance of saving money to the importance of maintaining reserve troops.
But, at the top of the page was the story about my dad, the only war news with a local connection. Mrs. Jack Lowe, the aunt who supplied the newspaper with the facts, was Pearl, the youngest sibling of my grandfather, Charles E. Macy. My dad undoubtedly chose to contact her because his parents resided out in the country and would not have had a telephone.
Here is that article:
May our nation's war dead rest in the peace which they helped to secure, and may our surviving veterans be allowed to build lives of hope and dignity, and be shown the respect they so richly deserve - especially by their own government.
May our political leaders act in a measured and thoughtful manner and not quench the bright flame of freedom and justice that so many for so long have fought and died to maintain.
And may all of us enjoy the freedoms that we have been granted by those who sacrificed so very much.
Proud Son
Memorial Day is a time set aside each year when we honor the memory of our war veterans, and, in particular, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. On this somber occasion, I would like to honor the war service of my father, Sgt. Garland Macy, who was wounded during his service in World War II.
I had known that my father was wounded during the time that he served in Europe, but he didn't talk about it much, and when he passed away in 2009 I possessed very few details about the incident. Now, thanks to an article that I came across in an old issue of the Neosho Daily Democrat (Neosho, MO), I am better versed on that important event in my father's life.
The article regarding my dad ran at the top of the front page of the Neosho Daily Democrat on March 17th (St. Patrick's Day), of 1945. It was a Saturday. Almost that entire front page was dedicated to stories about the war, a global catastrophe that was quickly drawing to a close. (The war in Europe would end less than two months later.).
Included on the front page of that issue were stories about Patton's tanks rolling across Europe and the impending fall of Germany, a massive allied air raid on Japan, the proposed drafting of nurses, a proposed Missouri veterans' loan law, a notice about expiring gas coupons, labor strikes in Detroit and Hollywood, and a brief notice about the Roosevelt's 40th wedding anniversary which was that day. (FDR would be dead less than four weeks later.) There was also an advertisement from a local bank comparing the importance of saving money to the importance of maintaining reserve troops.
But, at the top of the page was the story about my dad, the only war news with a local connection. Mrs. Jack Lowe, the aunt who supplied the newspaper with the facts, was Pearl, the youngest sibling of my grandfather, Charles E. Macy. My dad undoubtedly chose to contact her because his parents resided out in the country and would not have had a telephone.
Here is that article:
Sgt. Garland Macy Wounded in Action
Mrs. Jack Lowe, 323 West Adams Street, this morning received a telephone call from her nephew, Sgt. Garland Macy, who returned to the States last night. Sgt. Macy, a tail gunner, was wounded in the arm in Luxembourg on January 26 and received the Purple Heart Award. He is now stationed at the Springfield O'Reilly hospital, Springfield, Mo. Sgt. Macy will arrive here tonight to spend two days with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Macy, and other relatives and then will report back to O'Reilly hospital. Sgt. Macy graduated from the Neosho high school in 1942 and enlisted in the Army in the fall of that year. He was sent overseas last spring.
May our nation's war dead rest in the peace which they helped to secure, and may our surviving veterans be allowed to build lives of hope and dignity, and be shown the respect they so richly deserve - especially by their own government.
May our political leaders act in a measured and thoughtful manner and not quench the bright flame of freedom and justice that so many for so long have fought and died to maintain.
And may all of us enjoy the freedoms that we have been granted by those who sacrificed so very much.
1 comment:
Springfield's O'Reilly General Hospital was located on what is today Evangel University. Ozarks Public Television ran a documentary about this institution some six years ago. It was known as the "hospital with a soul".
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