My father was a Marine in World War II. He fought in four campaigns in the Pacific theater, Guadalcanal, Eniwetok, Kwajalein and Guam. He was an artilleryman manning a 75mm howitzer. He was awarded a Bronze Star.
On Guam, his gun and four others blasted over 300 Japanese soldiers in an afternoon. Several of his crew were killed that day. After the engagement, the Marines were ordered to go about the wounded and dead enemy and shoot them in the head. This had to be done. The Japanese soldiers would kill you if they were shooting at you, if they were wounded and after they were dead; they would booby trap themselves so that when you turned them over they would blow up. Later they would be bulldozed into an earthen mound. Brutality such as this surely leaves deep psychological scars for any sane person for the rest of their life.
It hurts me to think my father had to endure horrific situations such as this. The next time you meet a veteran, thank God and him that he sacrificed his innocence so you could keep yours.
Howard L. McHenry
East Vandergrift