thedrifter
03-15-09, 07:49 AM
Wis. vet, 82, tracks down buddy’s grave
By Emilie H. Wheeler - The Herald Journal (Logan, Utah)
Posted : Saturday Mar 14, 2009 15:10:16 EDT
LOGAN, Utah — For more than six decades Arlin Barden has thought of his old war buddy every single day.
A World War II veteran, the 82-year-old has had a long life. A resident of Waupaca, Wis., he was married to his wife for 61 years. He has several children and grandchildren and even has two great-grandchildren.
After working at a Veterans Home for 36 years, he retired and went on to care for his wife for nearly 20 years before she died in August.
But every day through those busy years, he’s always remembered the man he fought next to in Europe for several months: Carl R. Miller Jr., who was raised in Providence, Utah.
For a few months in the mid-1940s, Barden and Miller were the best of friends. They fought together, huddled to stay warm and shared meals and conversations. Eventually, one watched the other die.
“I was the last guy to see Carl alive and the first to see him after he died,” said Barden, who made a special trip to Utah this month to visit Miller’s grave in the Providence cemetery for the first time. “We were very close. He was my big brother.”
In April 1945, the 160-man company was moving into Kassel, a town in Germany. Miller was a gunner, Barden an assistant gunner.
It was also just five weeks before VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, when Nazi Germany’s surrender was accepted by the Allies.
But two days into April, 26 members of that company died, and many were wounded. Miller was among those killed.
Even 64 years later, Barden can’t discuss the day without tears. “It’s dirty,” he said. “War is dirty.”
After Miller died, Barden, just 18 years old, kept fighting until the war ended. He finished his service in the Army in 1946. After returning home, he married, had children and worked. But he always wondered about the big brother he never had. He didn’t even know where Miller was buried.
Then two years ago, Barden’s research led him to the cemetery in Providence. When his wife died in August, he decided to make the trip to Utah but wanted to wait until the worst of winter was over.
Now 82, Barden said his children and grandchildren were worried about him making the trip alone, but he did it anyway.
While in Cache Valley, Barden visited his old friend’s grave, purchased a wreath from a local florist to place on the site, and then sought out a World War II memorial sculpture built in 2000 in Providence that honors Miller and two other residents who died in the war.
Everyone has been “so nice,” he said, particularly noting city workers who helped him locate Miller’s grave underneath snow.
Barden said he hadn’t tried to contact Miller’s family and would have little idea where to start. During the war, the two men didn’t talk much about family, although Miller did mention a sister at times.
News of Miller’s death reached Cache Valley several days later, according to a story printed in The Herald Journal on April 17, 1945.
Headlined “Gives Life: Providence Man Killed in Germany,” the front-page story indicated Miller “was fighting with Gen. Patton’s third army in Germany” when, at 23, he was killed.
“Carl, a graduate of South Cache high school in 1940, entered the services Oct. 1, 1943,” the story reads. It goes on to indicate Miller first trained with an anti-aircraft unit and then transferred to the infantry. He was a member of the honor student brigade at Camp Davis in North Carolina, and he also trained at Camp Stewart, Ga., Fort Bliss, Texas, and Camp Maxey, Texas. On Jan. 5, 1945, he reported to Maryland for an overseas assignment.
The 1945 story lists him as the son of Karl R. and Elsa Trojer Miller of Providence and the brother of six siblings.
Through tears, Barden remembered his friend while standing beside his grave.
“He was just a great guy,” he said. “He helped me stay alive.”
Visiting Miller’s grave was something Barden said he knew he needed to do. Maybe it’ll bring some closure to all of those years, he said, adding, “I’m hoping so.”
Ellie
By Emilie H. Wheeler - The Herald Journal (Logan, Utah)
Posted : Saturday Mar 14, 2009 15:10:16 EDT
LOGAN, Utah — For more than six decades Arlin Barden has thought of his old war buddy every single day.
A World War II veteran, the 82-year-old has had a long life. A resident of Waupaca, Wis., he was married to his wife for 61 years. He has several children and grandchildren and even has two great-grandchildren.
After working at a Veterans Home for 36 years, he retired and went on to care for his wife for nearly 20 years before she died in August.
But every day through those busy years, he’s always remembered the man he fought next to in Europe for several months: Carl R. Miller Jr., who was raised in Providence, Utah.
For a few months in the mid-1940s, Barden and Miller were the best of friends. They fought together, huddled to stay warm and shared meals and conversations. Eventually, one watched the other die.
“I was the last guy to see Carl alive and the first to see him after he died,” said Barden, who made a special trip to Utah this month to visit Miller’s grave in the Providence cemetery for the first time. “We were very close. He was my big brother.”
In April 1945, the 160-man company was moving into Kassel, a town in Germany. Miller was a gunner, Barden an assistant gunner.
It was also just five weeks before VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, when Nazi Germany’s surrender was accepted by the Allies.
But two days into April, 26 members of that company died, and many were wounded. Miller was among those killed.
Even 64 years later, Barden can’t discuss the day without tears. “It’s dirty,” he said. “War is dirty.”
After Miller died, Barden, just 18 years old, kept fighting until the war ended. He finished his service in the Army in 1946. After returning home, he married, had children and worked. But he always wondered about the big brother he never had. He didn’t even know where Miller was buried.
Then two years ago, Barden’s research led him to the cemetery in Providence. When his wife died in August, he decided to make the trip to Utah but wanted to wait until the worst of winter was over.
Now 82, Barden said his children and grandchildren were worried about him making the trip alone, but he did it anyway.
While in Cache Valley, Barden visited his old friend’s grave, purchased a wreath from a local florist to place on the site, and then sought out a World War II memorial sculpture built in 2000 in Providence that honors Miller and two other residents who died in the war.
Everyone has been “so nice,” he said, particularly noting city workers who helped him locate Miller’s grave underneath snow.
Barden said he hadn’t tried to contact Miller’s family and would have little idea where to start. During the war, the two men didn’t talk much about family, although Miller did mention a sister at times.
News of Miller’s death reached Cache Valley several days later, according to a story printed in The Herald Journal on April 17, 1945.
Headlined “Gives Life: Providence Man Killed in Germany,” the front-page story indicated Miller “was fighting with Gen. Patton’s third army in Germany” when, at 23, he was killed.
“Carl, a graduate of South Cache high school in 1940, entered the services Oct. 1, 1943,” the story reads. It goes on to indicate Miller first trained with an anti-aircraft unit and then transferred to the infantry. He was a member of the honor student brigade at Camp Davis in North Carolina, and he also trained at Camp Stewart, Ga., Fort Bliss, Texas, and Camp Maxey, Texas. On Jan. 5, 1945, he reported to Maryland for an overseas assignment.
The 1945 story lists him as the son of Karl R. and Elsa Trojer Miller of Providence and the brother of six siblings.
Through tears, Barden remembered his friend while standing beside his grave.
“He was just a great guy,” he said. “He helped me stay alive.”
Visiting Miller’s grave was something Barden said he knew he needed to do. Maybe it’ll bring some closure to all of those years, he said, adding, “I’m hoping so.”
Ellie