h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember those who died on the field of combat. My father would tell us his stories of WWII, so those young men would not be forgotten.

Dad told us of the five young men he taught to speak French that didn't live long enough to speak to a French person. He told us of the many who never returned from Omaha Beach, the Ardennes and the other places he was during the war.

Dad often told us of one in particular, a pleasant young man whom Dad met in the early days of Army training. Baumgartner was the young man's surname. The story goes that one night on a late patrol my father dropped his helmet in a cold, fast moving stream and could not stop to retrieve it. Another patrol went out as they returned. Dad never said anything about dropping his helmet or where. Next thing he knew his helmet was resting on top of his gear at the camp. When he inquired how that happened to be there the answer was "Baumgartner came in with that after his patrol.". Dad would say "Not just anyone will fish your helmet out of a freezing stream more than five miles away in the middle of the night.".



For them and everyone else who should be remembered:

Just lads from the farms and boys from the cities
Not meant to be soldiers we lay in the trenches

We'd face the fighting with a smile - or so we said
If only we had known what danger lay ahead

The sky turned to grey as we went into battle
On the fields of Europe young men were fallin'

I'll be back for you someday - it won't be long
If I can just hold on 'til this bloody war is over...

Could not agree more. how ya doing and did you get over to europe last september?

I haven't made that trip, yet. It is still in the planning stages. No other obstacles left, other than time and arrangements.

How have you been?