MILITARY VETERANS
PAST TO PRESENT

Hi---

I’ve been fortunate to be part of the military and Veterans Affairs systems for a number of years. Last week I found an article that I had written several years ago about some of the soldiers that I met and interviewed at various times. Early in the l970’s I spoke to a l06 year old veteran who handed me a yellowing “Discharge Document” indicating that he was honorably mustered out of the service after one year’s service as a “Cannoneer.” (He drove the buckboard, with the artillery piece attached, during the time his unit was chasing renegade Indians, in the then Arizona Territory. The details of his life in the military and his experiences were fascinating! He was physically feeble (bedridden), but his mind was clear and focused.

Another former soldier, I spoke to, fought in the Spanish American War under Colonel Teddy Roosevelt’s unit, “The Rough Riders.” He described the former president as while being highly disciplined; he was somewhat obsessive about having his troops in formation at ‘first light’ every morning! ……another great source of first hand history!

One former GI told me that his unit was captured by an enemy Turkish patrol during the waning days of World War 1. He and his men were held captive for 6 weeks until the Armistice took effect on 11 November l918. The soldier feared for his life during his captivity, but felt that the enemy knew they would be losing the war, and felt that their live prisoners would allow them to surrender without repercussions.

I met a gentleman who was in the Army during the oft unpublicized U.S. military deployment to Russia, purportedly in support of the “White” (Czar-supported) movement. That intervention was short-lived when the Bolshevik revolution (“Red” forces) assumed control.

Two men I met were at Pearl Harbor on 7 December l941. Each described the debacle during the attack, and the fear and preparation for the subsequent invasion which fortunately never materialized. Their tasks following the attack involved search, rescue, recovery, and “lot’s of guarding the beaches” for enemy presence.

Two soldiers I met and interviewed were on the Bataan Death March in early l942, and subsequently spent the war at various POW facilities. In no uncertain terms, they described the brutality and complete lack of humanity by their captors. Each barely survived the ordeal, and each was almost skeletal when they were liberated by the advancing American troops. Both were still living when I wrote my original article, but one has since passed on.

I spoke to several Korean War veterans. One soldier was at Pork Chop Hill and the other at the Chosen Peninsula ---both engaged in hand to hand combat! Both described the brutal conditions of the “conflict.”

The brave men and women who served in Viet Nam also provided vivid depictions of the horrors of combat, including the unabated slaughter of thousands of civilians.

Someone once said that “history repeats itself.” The Gulf Wars and the current hostilities continue to reflect the horrors of war. It is a new era, but with similar horrors. We are a great nation and a beacon of light in an all too great oppressive world. If the voices of those who engaged in combat can be heard and heeded, perhaps we as a people would seek alternative resolutions to conflict.

              - The Clutterman

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