And, still I'd search in vain. And so dear 'Mom' on Mother's Day From way across the foam. I wish you health and happiness Just like I would at home! But when the year has changed again And it's Mother's Day, once more, I'll be back home with you again, Just like the years before. This token is a simple one, A few words set to rhyme. But what they say is just for you 'God Bless You' Mom of mine. Love your son Eddie After his discharge, Ed returned to Ogden, graduated from Weber Junior College and married Thelma Betteridge. He was a wonderful brother! Submitted by Margaret B. Favero, sister William J. (Bill) Bobolis In WWII, I served in the 99th Infantry Division, 303 Infantry Regiment, Charlie Company, as a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) ammunition carrier and rifleman. Our mission was to sweep through the Rohr Valley. Our first objective was to cross the Siegburg River and capture the town of Siegburg, Germany. As we were fighting through the town, word was passed down the line that our President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had died. All of us were dearly saddened by the news as we really loved our president. The night that the war ended with Germany, my friend DiCenso and I were assigned guard duty. But, of course, we joined the rest of our squad celebrating until our lieutenant discovered that we were not at our guard duty. For our punishment, my buddy and I were assigned to dig a new latrine in the morning. Just as we started digging, our captain came by and assigned us to go into town to the work camp and return with some Italian or Greek barbers since the captain knew that we were both bilingual. This was a much better assignment than digging a latrine. After the war ended with Germany, we were given a month leave at home, and then we were sent to Japan for occupation duty. Lucky for me, there was a notice that auditions were being held for the 97th Division Trident Chorus in Tokyo. I was accepted in the chorus and was assigned to run the PX and sing in the Men's Chorus. This made my stay in Japan very interesting. We had a weekly program and broadcast from the very same studio that Tokyo Rose used for her broadcasts. After I was discharged from the Army, I enrolled at Weber College and sang in the Dorian Singers and quartets. Every summer, I sang in Roland Perry's All Faces West with Igor Gorin. Weber College was a wonderful experience. Wilbur T. Braithwaite Observations and lessons learned from Infantry Combat in World War II. Written May 1997. 1) Personal survival is dependent upon a complex set of attributes of the soldier. Among these attributes needed are alertness, heartiness, knowledge, judgment, weapons skills, and quick intuitive action. 2) Survival depends upon a complex set of variables such as strength of and the coordination of friendly forces, strength of the enemy, strategic and tactical plans of both forces, defensive and offensive positions in relationship to geography and terrain, length of 'frontline' duty, and many other factors. 3) Survival depends upon intangibles like timing, Lady Luck, and perhaps the grace of a Benevolent Protector. 78 4) Survival depends upon developing a personal philosophy of life and a creed for death. A fine line is drawn that separates the natural desire of the young to live, and the learned desire of the patriot-soldier to perform his duty. Ultimately the two, often diametrically opposed desires, must be resolved in favor of the performance of duty. Without this resolution of mental conflict, the soldier languishes in a dangerous state of fear, unable to function effectively either physically or mentally. 5) Everyone has a 'breaking-point.' This apogee on the cyclic scale of combat stress is contingent upon sleep, hunger, and thirst. Even the strongest succumb when deprived, for a given period of time, from any one or combination of these three basic needs. 6) Heroic actions are usually more reflexive than premeditated. Heroes are ordinary men faced with unordinary circumstances who react in an unpredictable manner. 7) Leadership hinges upon personal confidence. This quality is often unrelated to training, age, or physical stature. Seeds of leadership, under fire, were likely planted in early childhood. 8) When a battle is on, the view of the rifleman is through the sights of a gun, the platoon leader through fog, fire, or smoke, the company commander across a ravine or field, the battalion commander through a pair of binoculars at the edge of the battle, and the regimental commander's view is centered upon a wrinkled map with chaotic boundaries. 9) The favorite target of an enemy sniper is a set of gold or silver bars. 10) The aging process is accelerated while 'on line.' A day becomes a week, a week a month, and a month a year. In most circumstances outside of war, the term 'veteran' implies years of experience. Not so in combat. 'Hardened veteran' can aptly apply in a short Period of time. 11) In the crucible of battle, friends for a day can become friends for a lifetime. 12) Priorities in life become categorized and prioritized under the specter of death. Relationships take precedence over all else. Family, friends, and reliance upon God for strength dominate the list. Ambition, pride, the search or recognition or fame, monetary and materialistic desires, all quickly sink to lower echelons. 13) Loveboth the giving and receiving ofbecomes the cardinal virtue to be cherished. 14) Paradoxically, hateeven on the battlefieldis overpowered by the power of love. 15) Ironically, the enemy becomes an object of both hate and love: therein lies the greatest conflict in the mind of the soldier, because love is innately the stronger of the two emotions. 16) A special throne in heaven has been earned by medics attached to line-companies. Brave and selfless, these men of conscience risked and gave their lives rescuing the wounded from the sure clutch of death. Minefields, grenades, snipers, mortars, artillery, and machine gun cross-fire were hazards encountered in the line of duty. Their only protection was a cross imposed upon a helmet or arm band. Yet they carried fallen comrades on their backs or by stretcher to aid stations in the rear; comrades they may not have known, and likely would never see again. 17) War leaves its imprint on the minds of soldiers forever. Memories may be suppressed, but are always lurking in the subconscious, surfacing again at unlikely times. 18) Life's later struggles are not unlike the battles of war. The main difference may be in intensity, not necessarily in the challenge thereof. Sooner or later nearly everyone fights for survival. A blend of mental and physical stress ensues. The two forces of stress are interwoven. As in war, a resolution of the mental conflict is of paramount importance. Experience gained on the battlefield can come into play to fight against a malignant growth, a failing heart, a sudden or degenerative disease. The will to overcome ill health is similar to the combatants will to help take the next hilltop, cross a river, or take a village blocking the path to a final unseen goal. A fighting spirit may not conquer the enemy or save the physical body, but it preserves the soul. 19) Paradoxically, the unspeakable, sheer brutality of war can enlarge the soldier's capacity for compassion. By attending to the sick and wounded and burying the dead, the surviving GI nurtures his own inner feelings of gentleness, kindness, and the urge to be humane. 20) A by-product of line-duty is a keen awareness of the fragility and wonder of being alive. A strong desire arises from the torment of battle to motivate those who live to make the most of their future opportunities. 79