When tyranny threatened Europe and when our own security was in danger by the sinking of the Lusitania and by Germany's plot to persuade Mexico to declare war against the United States, I was called on to help. I was a young draftee, one of the more than five million Americans that served during that war. I was sent 'Over There" with General Blackjack Pershing and fought in the Argonne Forest and Belleau Wood before getting a taste of a new and terrible form of warfare: Trench Warfare. There were countless miles of trenches inhabited by thousands of troops from the warring nations. Exploding shells took a terrible toll in the trenches and I began to know the meaning of fear when I would hear the whistle of incoming rounds. The constant bombardments caused many soldiers to become victims if Shell Shock, a form of mental trauma not fully recognized or understood at that time. Rats by the millions infested the trenches. Gorging themselves on human remains they could grow to the size of a cat. We tried to get rid of them in different ways: with bayonets, by shooting, and even by clubbing them to death. The trenches were wet and cold and the ever constant odor of decomposing bodies was overpowering.
I was one of over 70,000 American Soldiers who were exposed to Poison Gas, which was considered uncivilized prior to World War I. The most commonly used gasses were Chlorine and Phosgene, which produced choking and suffocation. and Mustard Gas which caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes. It usually took a person four or five weeks to die of mustard gas.
In addition to the horror of poison gas I saw and smelled, first-hand, the terrible destruction of human life by another new weapon of war, the Flame Thrower.
Our Armed Forces suffered more than 53,000 killed in action, 204,000 wounded and over 3,000 are still classified as Prisoner of War or Missing in Action from that war that came to be known as "The Great War" and "The War To End All Wars".
How wonderful and different the world would be today if that had that been true, because then ... I would have been ... The Last Veteran.
World War II began with the German Invasion of Poland in 1939. Hitler's thirst for power resulted in the invasion and occupation of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. At that time, the United States was operating under the Neutrality Act of 1935 and had no wish to be involved in the European Conflict. In 1939 the American Army numbered only 100,000 and our economy was still struggling from the Great Depression.
All that changed on December 7th 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor. I was one of the 16 million Americans who served during that war. I helped to liberate many of the Pacific Islands that had been taken over by the Japanese. I had friends that died in the Bataan Death March and my younger brother was one of the 6000 brave Marines that died as our Flag was being raised on the island of Iwo Jima.
A transfer to the European theater found me wading ashore on Omaha Beach on June 6th 1944. I survived D-Day, however, our forces suffered over 6600 casualties in that operation. In late December, I was under siege with the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, Belgium. We were surrounded by snow and by the German Army and had been called upon to surrender. They knew that we were short on food, supplies and ammunition. General McAuliffe's reply to the German Commander was "Nuts". We held out.
On December 24th our Air Corps finally broke through the cloud cover and seeing all those planes and parachutes seemed to us that we were witnessing a Christmas miracle, it was such a wonderful sight.
I can't describe the thoughts that went through my mind when we liberated the German Concentration Camp at Dachau. There were piles upon piles of dead inmates all over the compound. A huge number of German Guards were killed by a handful of US Troops in a frenzy of horror and anger, and by inmates seeking retribution.
World War II was won at a total of over 405,000 American lives lost and 670,000 wounded. Over 30,000 are still listed as missing.
There were numerous cases of Combat Fatigue, another name for the mental stress trauma experienced by troops in wartime.
With the Axis Powers defeated and the world being tired of war and seeking peace at last, there was very little doubt in my mind that I would be ... The Last Veteran.
Politics, ideology and religion have been the root cause of warfare for centuries. Such was the case on June 25th 1950 when North Korea declared war and invaded South Korea, claiming that South Korea had attacked one of its provinces. That claim was false and used as an excuse to impose Communist Rule throughout the entire country. Two days later the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling for member nations to give military aid to South Korea. Twenty two different countries participated in that war with a total force of over 900.000. Negotiations for a cease-fire lasted for close to two years during which time the war became erratic and confused with the front lines changing constantly.
The blustery, frigid Korean winters took their toll in the form of frozen fingers and toes and many a night was spent in foxholes or in trenches, reminiscent of World War I.
I was with the 7th Infantry Division as the front see-sawed back and forth over control of Pork Chop Hill and I was one of the more than 105,000 who were wounded in the three years of war. Over 36,000 were listed as killed in action and over 8,000 are still listed as missing in action. POW's were subjected to "Brainwashing" which tried to indoctrinate them into Communism, but only a very few POW's were taken in by that action.
In July of 1953 a cease-fire was finally agreed upon and opposing forces withdrew to either side of the 38th Parallel. An uneasy peace has existed all these years and ideologies have not changed. Sporadic gunfire can still be heard in the Neutral Zone or No Man's Land. It remains a delicate situation, at best.
It was a noble cause. We fought, we died. We helped a small nation that reached out for Freedom, that precious commodity which we, as Americans have always held so dear.
We had shown, along with our United Nations Allies, that we would go to war to defend democracy. Such a show of unity and determination would surely make rogue nations think twice about declaring war in the future. With that happy thought in mind, I figured that ... I had a very good chance to be ... The Last Veteran.
In 1985 former President Richard M. Nixon stated: "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now."
France's colonial rule in Vietnam ended in 1954 with the defeat of the French Army and the acceptance of the Geneva Conference agreements that divided Vietnam into North and South Vietnam. Fearing the spread of communism, President Kennedy committed the United States to aid in defending the struggling democratic government of South Vietnam. 1961 saw the arrival of U.S. support troops and the formation of the U.S. Military Assistance Command. I was one of the more than 3 million US troops that served in Vietnam during what has been called America's longest war ... an unconventional war ... with no front lines, no battlefronts. Today's peaceful village would be the site of tomorrow's battle. American Forces were stationed in dozens of Base Camps throughout the country. The enemy knew the land and he was not easy to identify. He was all around us and his favorite sport included constant mortar and rocket attacks at night. Americans were forever being ambushed during jungle patrols. Booby traps could be found everywhere. The helicopter played a major role in Vietnam. Fatalities were held to a minimum by timely medical evacuations. Medevac flights are estimated to have been over half a million. From 1961 to 1971 the US sprayed over 20 million gallons of defoliants over the Vietnamese jungle. Much of the jungle was eliminated by Agent Orange, however, effects on humans was either not known or not made public and it wasn't until years later that thousands of Vietnam Veterans, like myself, began falling victim to deadly diseases that were finally attributed to Agent Orange. In 1968 the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese violated a New Year's truce. It came to known as the TET Offensive. Enemy forces attacked every major city and military base. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong dead totaled over 45,000. America and its allies suffered 4,300 killed and 16,000 wounded. The compound at the US Embassy in Saigon was penetrated. The length and cost of the war and the high number of U.S. casualties helped to turn many Americans against the war. There were huge public demonstrations in Washington, D.C., as well as in many other cities in the United States and on college campuses. Hundreds of would-be draftees deserted to Canada and Europe. The Embassy attack "on American Soil" had made its point. The media now said that the war was unwinnable. Support for the war in Congress, throughout our country and the world began to weaken and resulted in our eventual withdrawal leaving South Vietnam to be taken over by North Vietnam and its Dictator, Ho Chi Minh. Over 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam, 153,000 were wounded and nearly 2500 are still listed as missing. Shell Shock and Combat Fatigue now had a new and fancier name: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a very high number of Vietnam Veterans would be diagnosed with that condition. When I returned home I was not greeted by grateful cheering crowds, parades and ceremonies. I was jeered at, cursed at, spat upon, spurned and neglected. We were sent to bring freedom to a troubled land. We won many battles, but we were not allowed to win the war.
Considering the apparent decline of respect for the Military, the overall anti-war feeling throughout the world, the high cost of the war to America in time, lives and money.... how could there be any doubt at all that I ....would be ... The Last Veteran.
On September 11, 2001, America was the victim of a series of vicious, cruel and mindless suicide attacks when 19 Islamic terrorists hijacked four jet passenger airliners. This was the first major terrorist attack on U.S. soil, however hundreds of Islamic Terrorist attacks can be traced here and throughout the world as far back as 1968. The majority of these incidents have been perpetuated by members of Al Qaeda, Jihad, the Holy War and the PLO. On February 23, 1998, Osama Bin Laden issued a statement calling all Muslims Òto comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their moneyÓ Obviously we did not take that statement seriously until 9-11. Operation Enduring Freedom began in October, 2001 with the intention of capturing al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden and putting an end to Taliban activities in Afghanistan. The possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists had been a cause of concern for years and repeated intelligence reports indicated that Iraq very likely did possess such weapons. In the past Saddam had used chemical warfare to subdue the Kurds, killing thousands over the years including over 5000, mostly women and children, in the City of Halubja alone. Fear was spreading throughout the Western World that he might do it again. Based on this intelligence, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Poland and Denmark. According to President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were to disarm Iraq of Weapons of Mass Destruction, to end Saddam's support for terrorism and free the Iraqi people. I was there when the statue of Saddam came tumbling down and have been back to Iraq two more times. Much accomplished these past few years in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there is still much more to be done. I fear that the war against fanatical terrorists both in Iraq and in Afghanistan and throughout the world will be a long and arduous task and unfortunately, many lives will be lost. As of now American combat losses are nearing the 5000 mark and over 21,000 have been wounded. Many cases of mental combat trauma have been reported. There are reports, almost daily,of terrorist activities in every corner of the globe. Children are being taught that America and its Allies are the enemy and it is their holy duty to destroy us and they will be rewarded for doing so. There are schools for suicide bombers who willingly sacrifice themselves for their misguided cause. The free world must eventually realize the gravity of this situation and take a united and effective course of action against global terrorism.
I am tired of war, tired of the suffering and disruption of human life. However, with hope, and with worldwide dedication and support, the Forces of Freedom and Liberty will prevail ... and I ... after so much toil, trouble and turmoil, might ... just possibly be ... The Last Veteran.
That's it guys. Thanks for reading and have a Happy Veterans Day.