thedrifter
05-18-07, 06:56 AM
Family remains curious about WWII veteran's war experience
Pictures, few details all that survive of his part in history
By Cindy Corell/staff
ccorell@newsleader.com
VERONA — On Thursday in the kitchen of a small frame house on Lee-Jackson Highway, a family gathered to remember an old soldier's war stories.
They struggled. John A. Yesalavich didn't talk much about his life during World War II. A pile of Army photographs, most of them tiny, black-and-white prints that had faded near to gray, didn't help much. A scribbled word or two on the back, and reflections from Martha, John's wife of 61 years, didn't offer much help either.
"He didn't talk about it much," his oldest son, John, said. His son-in-law, David Zimmerman, brought out the Garrison's cap that John wore in dress uniform. His Purple Heart, Bronze Star and a few other medals were attached above the cap in a framed box.
"When we did this for him, he didn't like it," Zimmerman said of the framed display.
John and his younger brother, Joe, tried to get their father to open up about his war experiences, but they didn't get far. All they got were the basic details:
Yesalavich grew up in coal mine country near Exeter, Pa. He'd worked the mines as a young man, then enlisted in the Army in December 1940. He served in 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Co. E. From Normandy to the Ardennes, the paratroopers dropped into enemy territory and made history all the way.
A parallel unit in the 101st Airborne Division, Easy Co. of the 506th PIR were the subjects of historian Stephen Ambrose's "Band of Brothers" HBO series.
Yet Yesalavich's sons and daughter, Janet Zimmerman, heard little of their father's war.
A story son-in-law Zimmerman pulled from him told the character of the man, Zimmerman said. During the bitter cold and months-long Battle of the Bulge, Yesalavich hunkered in a foxhole while heavy artillery rained down. Not far from him, two soldiers sent in as raw replacement troops endured the wrath of battle.
"They were scared to death," Zimmerman said. "He crawled down toward them in their foxhole and asked if they'd like him to stay there with them."
On Jan. 15, 1945, a landmine shattered Yesalavich's left leg, sending him home to recuperate. One of his friends died in the blast.
The war wound caused extreme pain. Later in life, he used a leg brace to walk, his family said.
After the war, he married Martha Sutton, an Army buddy's sister-in-law. They raised two sons and two daughters. He worked on his wife's family farm for a short time, then worked in local industries.
When his son, John, joined the Marines and served in Vietnam, he still didn't talk about his war.
The war wasn't the only thing Yesalavich didn't talk about, his family said.
"He wasn't one to complain," his son, John, said.
"He always said he was 'all right,'" his wife said.
Yesalavich died after a heart attack on Wednesday. He was 89.
Ellie
Pictures, few details all that survive of his part in history
By Cindy Corell/staff
ccorell@newsleader.com
VERONA — On Thursday in the kitchen of a small frame house on Lee-Jackson Highway, a family gathered to remember an old soldier's war stories.
They struggled. John A. Yesalavich didn't talk much about his life during World War II. A pile of Army photographs, most of them tiny, black-and-white prints that had faded near to gray, didn't help much. A scribbled word or two on the back, and reflections from Martha, John's wife of 61 years, didn't offer much help either.
"He didn't talk about it much," his oldest son, John, said. His son-in-law, David Zimmerman, brought out the Garrison's cap that John wore in dress uniform. His Purple Heart, Bronze Star and a few other medals were attached above the cap in a framed box.
"When we did this for him, he didn't like it," Zimmerman said of the framed display.
John and his younger brother, Joe, tried to get their father to open up about his war experiences, but they didn't get far. All they got were the basic details:
Yesalavich grew up in coal mine country near Exeter, Pa. He'd worked the mines as a young man, then enlisted in the Army in December 1940. He served in 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Co. E. From Normandy to the Ardennes, the paratroopers dropped into enemy territory and made history all the way.
A parallel unit in the 101st Airborne Division, Easy Co. of the 506th PIR were the subjects of historian Stephen Ambrose's "Band of Brothers" HBO series.
Yet Yesalavich's sons and daughter, Janet Zimmerman, heard little of their father's war.
A story son-in-law Zimmerman pulled from him told the character of the man, Zimmerman said. During the bitter cold and months-long Battle of the Bulge, Yesalavich hunkered in a foxhole while heavy artillery rained down. Not far from him, two soldiers sent in as raw replacement troops endured the wrath of battle.
"They were scared to death," Zimmerman said. "He crawled down toward them in their foxhole and asked if they'd like him to stay there with them."
On Jan. 15, 1945, a landmine shattered Yesalavich's left leg, sending him home to recuperate. One of his friends died in the blast.
The war wound caused extreme pain. Later in life, he used a leg brace to walk, his family said.
After the war, he married Martha Sutton, an Army buddy's sister-in-law. They raised two sons and two daughters. He worked on his wife's family farm for a short time, then worked in local industries.
When his son, John, joined the Marines and served in Vietnam, he still didn't talk about his war.
The war wasn't the only thing Yesalavich didn't talk about, his family said.
"He wasn't one to complain," his son, John, said.
"He always said he was 'all right,'" his wife said.
Yesalavich died after a heart attack on Wednesday. He was 89.
Ellie