"A Veteran Died Today"

(Author Unknown) He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast, and he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past. Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done. In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, everyone. And 'tho sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke, all his buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke. But we'll hear his tales no longer, for ol' Bob has passed away, and the world's a little poorer, for a Veteran died today.

No, he won't be mourned by many, just his children and his wife. For he lived an ordinary, very quiet sort of life. He held a job and raised a family, quietly going on his way; and the world won't note his passing; 'tho a Veteran died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state, while thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great. Papers tell of their life stories, from the time that they were young, but the passing of a Veteran, goes unnoticed, and unsung. Is the greatest contribution, to the welfare of our land, some jerk who breaks his promise and cons his fellow man? Or the ordinary fellow, who in times of war and strife, goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life? The politician's stipend and the style in which he lives, are sometimes disproportionate, to the service he gives. While the ordinary Veteran, who offered up his all, is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension, small. It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago, that our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys, went to battle, but we know. It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys, who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys. Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand, would you really want some cop-out, with his every waffling stand? Or would you want a Veteran, who has sworn to defend, his home, his kin, and Country, and would fight until the end?

He was just a common Veteran and his ranks are growing thin, but his presence should remind us, we may need his likes again. For when countries are in conflict, then we find the Military's part, is to clean up all the troubles, that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor, while he's here to hear the praise, then at least let's give him homage, at the ending of his days. Perhaps just a simple headline, in the paper that might say:

OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, FOR A VETERAN DIED TODAY.

(Recited by then-CBIVA National Chaplain Wendall Phillips during the Memorial Service at the 51st CBIVA Reunion. Printed in the Fall 1998 issue of the CBIVA Sound-off.)

IN MEMORIAM
Lest We Forget The Heroic Efforts Of Our Veterans
(A listing of those men whose deaths were noted in my local newspapers or that were discovered while researching the 7th Bomb Group)

SGT. ANTHONY A. ALVES 1923-2012 - Radio Operator, 8th Air Force, 93rd Bomb Group

ARMANDO M. CASTRO 1924-2013 - Tail Gunner, 8th Air Force

2LT. ERWIN F. CIHAK 1915-2004 - Bombardier, 19th Bomb Group, 38th Reconnaissance Squadron

LT. VINCENT N. CRUPI Unknown-1944 - Bombardier, 8th Air Force, 453rd Bomb Group

CPL. PHILIP FARNSWORTH 1922-2012 - Ball Turret Gunner, 8th Air Force, 448th Bomb Group

S/SGT. EDWARD J. FRENCH, JR. UNKNOWN -2013 - Waist Gunner, 8th Air Force, 95th Bomb Group

F/O ROBERT W. GERMEROTH 1923-2012 - Navigator, 9th Air Force, 95th Troop Carrier Squadron

SGT. JOSEPH L. IANNUCCI 1922-1975 - Clerk-Typist, 1330th AAF Base Unit, India-China Div., ATC

LT. BERNARD LISS 1925-2012 - Navigator, 8th Air Force, 457th Bomb Group

2LT. LYLE M. NELSON 1916-2012 - Bombardier, 15th Air Force, 301st Bomb Group

CAPT. ABRAHAM L. SALUK 1918-2001 - Navigator, Air Transport Command

LT. CALVIN COOLIDGE "CAL" WORTHINGTON 1920-2013 - Pilot, 8th Air Force, 390th Bomb Group, 568th Bomb Squadron

Home - Medals - Diary Entries - Planes & Crews - Crew Photos - Nose Art

Short Snorters - 7th BG Personnel - 308th BG Personnel

Cadet Class 43-11 - Crews: Casper to Topeka

Documents - Know These Men? - Document Library

The Making of an AAF Bombardier - WW2 Poster Collection Great-uncle Henry's Page -

Family Photos - Sights From Overseas - Links - CBI On the Internet