*****
Wayne Cooper was married with three children when he was drafted into World War II. The tail end of the war was approaching and the younger fathers were beginning to be drafted. From Idaho, Wayne was taken to Camp Roberts in Salt Lake City in September 1944. In March, Wayne had trained for the war and was taken to Mead, Maryland where he rode the Queen Mary to England. The first day at the battlefield, Wayne was placed in a group of 225 men. By the time Wayne went to bed, 125 men, including himself, remained.
The next battle was across the Rhine River in Germany. The Germans were on a hill throwing hand-grenades at the Americans who just crossed the Rhine River. Wayne said that they just had to pick up the grenades and throw them back, hoping they didn’t get their arms blown off. They captured five German Prisoners of War. Since Wayne had been out the longest (that didn’t take long with the rate casualties were going), he was appointed to take the prisoners to the boat on the Rhine River. He did not take his hand off his gun the whole time. He watched the prisoners like a hawk. That was the first of Wayne’s battles in Germany.
In most of the battles Wayne fought, he was the person in front driving the tank. He could see everything and did not like most of what he saw. One particular battle he was on foot, fighting beside a newly drafted boy of eighteen. The Germans shot a tree beside him and the impact from the explosion also blew up the boy’s leg. A few men carried him off to the ambulance and Wayne carried his leg. A couple of years later the boy sent Wayne a picture of himself in a wheelchair with only a stump of a leg. He had not been on the battlefield but a few hours and he had lost his leg.
As much of a tragedy as World War II was, Wayne still has pleasant memories of the war. Each soldier would receive a certain number of C rations and a certain number of K rations. C rations were heated cans of food and K rations were dry rations. K rations were candy bars and cigarettes. Wayne was not a smoker, so he traded his cigarettes for things he wanted. The soldiers who smoked would pay or trade almost anything for a cigarette. Wayne traded his cigarettes mainly for money and chocolate candy bars. In turn he traded his chocolate candy bars with the German families for eggs. Chocolate candy bars were a rare luxury for families all over the world during World War II. The German mothers were more than happy to give Wayne a few eggs for his candy. In the morning Wayne Cooper could have eggs for breakfast while the smokers watched and suffered. “It was really nice to have eggs in the morning,” Wayne said. “It was almost like being home.”
One night before a battle, the soldiers needed a place to sleep. The only place available was a windmill where they made flour. The next morning everyone was white and no one could recognize anybody.
At the end of the war, there was a rumor that the war was going to end, so everybody waited to hear about it except three soldiers who went to fight. A half an hour later, the war ended and a truce was declared. If the three soldiers had waited a half-hour longer, they would have lived.
On the way home, Wayne saw the concentration camps. There were a few people who were severely starved at the end of the war who could not be saved. They were lying on beds, covered with sheets. It broke Wayne’s heart to see the Jews who were covered so he could see their ribs and how skinny they were. The next day they all died. Wayne continued his journey to New York. The Statue of Liberty brought everyone to tears, including Wayne himself. Wayne Cooper had learned something very important from the war. “Freedom is expensive,” he said, wiping his eyes.
The next battle was across the Rhine River in Germany. The Germans were on a hill throwing hand-grenades at the Americans who just crossed the Rhine River. Wayne said that they just had to pick up the grenades and throw them back, hoping they didn’t get their arms blown off. They captured five German Prisoners of War. Since Wayne had been out the longest (that didn’t take long with the rate casualties were going), he was appointed to take the prisoners to the boat on the Rhine River. He did not take his hand off his gun the whole time. He watched the prisoners like a hawk. That was the first of Wayne’s battles in Germany.
In most of the battles Wayne fought, he was the person in front driving the tank. He could see everything and did not like most of what he saw. One particular battle he was on foot, fighting beside a newly drafted boy of eighteen. The Germans shot a tree beside him and the impact from the explosion also blew up the boy’s leg. A few men carried him off to the ambulance and Wayne carried his leg. A couple of years later the boy sent Wayne a picture of himself in a wheelchair with only a stump of a leg. He had not been on the battlefield but a few hours and he had lost his leg.
As much of a tragedy as World War II was, Wayne still has pleasant memories of the war. Each soldier would receive a certain number of C rations and a certain number of K rations. C rations were heated cans of food and K rations were dry rations. K rations were candy bars and cigarettes. Wayne was not a smoker, so he traded his cigarettes for things he wanted. The soldiers who smoked would pay or trade almost anything for a cigarette. Wayne traded his cigarettes mainly for money and chocolate candy bars. In turn he traded his chocolate candy bars with the German families for eggs. Chocolate candy bars were a rare luxury for families all over the world during World War II. The German mothers were more than happy to give Wayne a few eggs for his candy. In the morning Wayne Cooper could have eggs for breakfast while the smokers watched and suffered. “It was really nice to have eggs in the morning,” Wayne said. “It was almost like being home.”
One night before a battle, the soldiers needed a place to sleep. The only place available was a windmill where they made flour. The next morning everyone was white and no one could recognize anybody.
At the end of the war, there was a rumor that the war was going to end, so everybody waited to hear about it except three soldiers who went to fight. A half an hour later, the war ended and a truce was declared. If the three soldiers had waited a half-hour longer, they would have lived.
On the way home, Wayne saw the concentration camps. There were a few people who were severely starved at the end of the war who could not be saved. They were lying on beds, covered with sheets. It broke Wayne’s heart to see the Jews who were covered so he could see their ribs and how skinny they were. The next day they all died. Wayne continued his journey to New York. The Statue of Liberty brought everyone to tears, including Wayne himself. Wayne Cooper had learned something very important from the war. “Freedom is expensive,” he said, wiping his eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment