A visit with some World War II veterans sheds light on how times have changed

John Boyle
Columnist
October 1, 2007 12:15 am

Here’s the problem with hanging out with a bunch of World War II veterans: It makes you feel completely inadequate.

They certainly don’t intend for this to happen, but it does.

Take Saturday, for instance. Photographer Steve Dixon and I had the privilege of tagging along with 101 World War II veterans visiting the war memorials of Washington, D.C. It was all made possible by the Asheville Downtown Rotary Club, which did a fantastic job of organizing the trip — right down to securing a police escort (more on that later) and footing the $46,000 bill.

I spent the day talking to veterans, absorbing their incredible stories of war. At one point, I was eavesdropping on Malcolm Gamble and Martin MacDonald, who were sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. A college student was listening in, too, as MacDonald, a B-29 bomber pilot who spent five hours in the Pacific awaiting rescue after he had to ditch his plane, talked about the war.

The student expressed his amazement at what the men had done.

“We just did what we had to do,” Gamble said. “We didn’t have a choice.”

It’s typical of that generation. They don’t think they did anything that any other generation wouldn’t have done, and they’re genuinely uncomfortable with adulation, wanting to refocus your attention on the 400,000 servicemen who didn’t come back.

I spent about 15 minutes chatting with Cherokee resident Bob Youngdeer, an 85-year-old who joined the Marines at age 18 and fought in Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He told me about being shot in the face by a sniper and then walking back to the front lines — he had been in front of the front lines — even though he had briefly blacked out. The bullet hit his nose, split his tongue then exited near his ear.

He spent a few months recuperating.

“Then they sent me back for seconds,” he said, referring to Okinawa.

I forgot to mention that the same day Youngdeer got shot, his brother got bayoneted in the leg and side.

How can you ever say enough to thank a guy who went through this for his country?

Asheville resident Paul Penn, a 20-mm cannon gunner on a Navy ship that participated in the invasions in the South Pacific, told me a humorous story about firing his gun at Japanese planes and having to deal with a misfire. Normally, he said, you’d dislodge the round with a ramrod, but in the heat of battle, he simply unscrewed the barrel, dumped it in the ocean and put on another (they were $500 a pop, big money back then, he noted).

He didn’t screw it in quite right, though, and promptly shot the replacement barrel into the ocean.

I wish I had room to tell you all their stories.

James Towe talked about seeing the flag-raisings on Iwo Jima from his ship, which carried 24 landing boats to haul Marines ashore for the fighting. He and other sailors drove the boats ashore, taking intense fire when they hit the beach.

After the war, like most vets, he came home and raised a family — no fanfare, no fuss.

Frank Marvin, 83, became a Presbyterian minister and raised a family after flying fighter planes — P-40s, P-38s and P-51s — out of Panama. On one occasion he spotted a German sub, which was later sunk.

“I was an 18-year-old kid flying a $400,000 airplane,” he said, shaking his head in amazement.

These guys couldn’t believe the celebrity treatment they got in Asheville and D.C. on Saturday, particularly the police motorcycle escort from Reagan National Airport to the World War II Memorial, which Sen. Elizabeth Dole had arranged. The cops vigorously waved traffic out of the way and took us around traffic that would’ve stalled us for an hour or more.

“I bet President Bush couldn’t get through Washington that good,” joked Army Air Corps veteran William Cogburn.

They were astounded by the gratitude, but it couldn’t be more deserved. I think this quote from Harry Truman at the World War II Memorial says it better than I ever could: “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifice.”

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at jboyle@citizen-times.com or 232-5847.

Ellie