thedrifter
08-30-09, 07:33 AM
Veterans decide not to toast buddies alone
Instead of saving brandy for the last man, they all have a drink at their last reunion
Saturday, August 29, 2009 9:54 PM
By Dave Hendricks
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The men who fought some of World War II's fiercest battles in the Pacific bought a bottle of brandy 20 years ago and made a pact: The last man alive would drink the bottle and toast his fallen comrades.
But today, the unit's 11 surviving members decided they'd rather drink it together.
"Now we've gotten so old we're going to give it up," said Russell Diefenbach, 84, of Aurora, Ill., who paid $200 for the brandy in 1989. "That's about the best (as far as) I can tell you, being a martini drinker."
So hours after the group voted to stop holding reunions acknowledging they've become too old to jet across the country each year they cracked the bottle of Marquis de Caussade Armagnac.
"I'm going to be the last guy anyway and I don't want to drink it alone," joked George Peto, 86, of Columbus.
The men met in the 81mm Mortars, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. Together they wrested Okinawa, Peleliu and Guadalcanal from the Japanese.
Positioned behind the riflemen on the front lines, the mortar unit rained shells onto Japanese positions to clear the way for American offensives. At times, they were positioned just feet behind the front.
"We call it the infantry cannon," Diefenbach said.
He joined the Marines at 17 and went to an officer-training program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Fearful the war would end before their training, Diefenbach and several buddies purposely flunked out and went straight to boot camp.
Diefenbach managed to get to Peleliu in 1944 time for one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific war, where he was wounded on the beach. One in three Marines, more than 1,200, were killed.
The bonds forged during the Pacific campaign brought the unit back together in 1989 at the former Harley Hotel on Rt. 161 in Columbus. About 60 people attended the first reunion, Diefenbach said.
Over the years, the group got smaller and smaller, meeting in New Orleans, San Diego and Las Vegas. Yesterday, the handful left met at the Easton Hilton. Peto, Diefenbach and the others sat around a projector, watching a slide show of pictures from past reunions.
Sunday, those from out of town will fly home.
dhendricks@dispatch.com
Ellie
Instead of saving brandy for the last man, they all have a drink at their last reunion
Saturday, August 29, 2009 9:54 PM
By Dave Hendricks
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The men who fought some of World War II's fiercest battles in the Pacific bought a bottle of brandy 20 years ago and made a pact: The last man alive would drink the bottle and toast his fallen comrades.
But today, the unit's 11 surviving members decided they'd rather drink it together.
"Now we've gotten so old we're going to give it up," said Russell Diefenbach, 84, of Aurora, Ill., who paid $200 for the brandy in 1989. "That's about the best (as far as) I can tell you, being a martini drinker."
So hours after the group voted to stop holding reunions acknowledging they've become too old to jet across the country each year they cracked the bottle of Marquis de Caussade Armagnac.
"I'm going to be the last guy anyway and I don't want to drink it alone," joked George Peto, 86, of Columbus.
The men met in the 81mm Mortars, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. Together they wrested Okinawa, Peleliu and Guadalcanal from the Japanese.
Positioned behind the riflemen on the front lines, the mortar unit rained shells onto Japanese positions to clear the way for American offensives. At times, they were positioned just feet behind the front.
"We call it the infantry cannon," Diefenbach said.
He joined the Marines at 17 and went to an officer-training program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Fearful the war would end before their training, Diefenbach and several buddies purposely flunked out and went straight to boot camp.
Diefenbach managed to get to Peleliu in 1944 time for one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific war, where he was wounded on the beach. One in three Marines, more than 1,200, were killed.
The bonds forged during the Pacific campaign brought the unit back together in 1989 at the former Harley Hotel on Rt. 161 in Columbus. About 60 people attended the first reunion, Diefenbach said.
Over the years, the group got smaller and smaller, meeting in New Orleans, San Diego and Las Vegas. Yesterday, the handful left met at the Easton Hilton. Peto, Diefenbach and the others sat around a projector, watching a slide show of pictures from past reunions.
Sunday, those from out of town will fly home.
dhendricks@dispatch.com
Ellie