WWII VETERANS RECALL STRUGGLE ALLIES WON.Byline: TONY CASTRO Staff Writer They returned as heroes to ticker-tape parades A ticker-tape parade is a parade event, held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry. and wild celebrations at the victory over Nazi Germany and Japan. Then they were shelved in the American consciousness by more recent, less successful and bitterly divisive di·vi·sive adj. Creating dissension or discord. di·vi  sive·ly adv.di·vi wars. They are the veterans of World War II, and they are in the forefront again. Their stories of triumph and tragedy -- being chronicled and archived in the congressionally mandated Veterans History Project for the U.S. Library of Congress -- are all the more poignant as America commemorates Memorial Day. They are men like Albert Gregg, 86, of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , who fought with the Army's 32nd Infantry Division in fierce combat amid tropical disease Tropical diseases are infectious diseases that either occur uniquely in tropical and subtropical regions (which is rare) or, more commonly, are either more widespread in the tropics or more difficult to prevent or control. until Buna bu·na n. A synthetic rubber made from the polymerization of butadiene and sodium. [Originally a trademark.] Noun 1. Mission, a Japanese beachhead beach·head n. 1. A position on an enemy shoreline captured by troops in advance of an invading force. 2. A first achievement that opens the way for further developments; a foothold: on New Guinea New Guinea (gĭn`ē), island, c.342,000 sq mi (885,780 sq km), SW Pacific, N of Australia; the world's second largest island after Greenland. , was finally captured in 1943. For him, Memorial Day brings back recollections of the good and the bad of war. "There's things I remember too well," he said, "and there's things I try to forget." He also saw combat against the Japanese in the Philippines and returned with his own concept of the hell of war. "One thing we were there for -- kill or be killed," he said. "It was license to commit murder. But I served my country. That was the main thing. That was what we were supposed to do." Gregg is one of three veterans living at Shalev Family Homes, a residential-care facility for senior citizens in Valley Glen, who was interviewed last week for the far-reaching Veterans Project. Created by Congress in 2000, the Veterans History Project is aimed at collecting oral-history interviews, memoirs mem·oir n. 1. An account of the personal experiences of an author. 2. An autobiography. Often used in the plural. 3. A biography or biographical sketch. 4. , letters, diaries, photographs and other original materials from veterans who served in U.S. wars. "It is a historic project documenting the contributions of veterans to their country," said Peter Bartis, the Library of Congress official overseeing the program. While all veterans are being sought to contribute, often the World War II veterans' accounts are the most moving. At the College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. last week, Robert Armacher, 83, who served in the South Pacific with the Army Aviation Engineers, recalled the trauma of sitting with a close friend who lay wounded and dying. "That was pretty bad," Armacher told students who were recording and collecting the stories. "I'd write a letter to my wife, and he'd copy it for his girlfriend. He was going to get married, and I was going to be his best man." The College of the Canyons students are just a few of the volunteers who have swarmed to the project and are making an impression on relatives and friends of veterans. "I first learned about it from a girlfriend whose father was interviewed," recalled Mia Levi, administrator for Shalev Family Homes in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . "I thought how wonderful it was and how we should involve our residents who are veterans." One of those veterans, Hershey Eisenberg, 80, was a teen when he enlisted in the Coast Guard to do what he could at the end of World War II End of World War II can refer to:
"The war was over, but I felt compelled to go," said Eisenberg. "There was a sense of relief, I suppose, that we had won the war. But there was still a need to serve." For Gregg, the military was not simply an option. He was drafted out of Woodbury Law School and shipped to the South Pacific. He has never been able to forget the horror of battle and the atrocities of war. "Do you know why we didn't take prisoners? Because we'd have to guard them and share some of our food," he said. "It was a war we won because we had more equipment. We had more ships. And we were smarter. "It was an experience. I wouldn't have missed it, but I wouldn't want it again." tony.castro(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3761 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) World War II veteran Albert Gregg, who saw fierce fighting in the Pacific in the U.S. Army's 32nd Infantry Division, is among those interviewed for the national Veterans History Project. (2) U.S. Coast Guard veteran Hershey Eisenberg of the San Fernando Valley recalls his eagerness to serve his country when World War II was ending. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion