The Ballad of Rodger Young by the West Point Glee Club in 1959 left tears. Music has a way of bringing home the valor and finality of a noble human act. To remember a young man who saved many of his comrades in an infantry battle on a remote, barren island is to understand there are so many more who did the same, without posthumous ceremony or accolades. I am a pacifist who strongly believes each and every life I too precious to give away in war. I am also a realist who must accept the reality I have lived with since as a little girl whose parents listened to the nightly news covering the Vietnam War. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley solemnly provided an ongoing script of myriad battles in a war I didn’t understand. Vietnam was burned into my young impressionable mind, and it was then that I knew I could never support the concept of war. Yet when I watch military ceremonies as Glenn Lane’s internment on the USS Arizona, emotional gratefulness and compassion for a man’s harrowing experience on Dec. 7, 1941 overwhelms me. Will humankind ever find an alternative to war? I don’t know and suspect not in my life time. So war continues, and I try to remember each and every casualty was a precious and loved being.
My father was a combat Veteran of the Korean War. He rarely talked about it, but I know that he saw a lot of death there. I always remembered to call him on Memorial Day to thank him, because I knew he was tormented by war memories. He and my stepmom used to love to listen to 40's music, even though they didn't meet until the 50's. Your wonderful description of the music of that time helps give me a better understanding of how they must have felt when they listened to it.
My brother, SSgt Joseph A Matejov, has been missing for 49 years. Here is an excerpt from Joe's last letter home, written after the peace treaty was signed with Vietnam:
He writes: "Can't wait til they release all the POWs, too. I'll really be happy to see that. I can't believe it's all over. We'll still be flying out of here, however.....Me, I only have 56 days left here myself. "
Tragically, the Air Force sent him on another mission, and his plane, the Baron 52 was shot down on Feb 4, 1973, while the release of POWs were being negotiated. 49 years later, we still seek answers. The Air Force adamantly refuses to explain findings by Segwick Tourison, hired by the Senate Select Committee on POWs/MIAs in 1992. He discovered DIA documents that listed Joe as captured. He presented this fact and other relevant findings about this mission to Senators Kerry, and McCain, yet they, too, ignored these findings.
The Secretary of the Air Force, in 2016, promised to address these Tourison documents, but then never does.. She then speaks to a Senator who suddenly withdraws from this inquiry, and a contracted newspaper article about Joe's case is suddenly cancelled.
How can we point fingers at other nations and cry "human rights violations" when we knowingly sacrifice our own men?
This Memorial Day, please keep Joe and all of the other POWs in your thoughts, and ask your Senators and Congressmen for a full accounting of their fate and an end to the coverup.
I have been to the cemetery in France. The crosses and stars face the west, face the United States. France ceded that land to the United States so those who fought so valiantly and paid the full price are on American soil.
Dan Rather, you are a pillar of my esteem for honesty and experience. My father was 2 1/2 years in the Pacific War, Saipan, Kwajelein, Battle of the Phillipeans. He was a Chief Bosun's Mate on destroyers, I later became a career Naval Officer. Yes, I lament the loss of our national purpose in seeing threats and addressing them, especially internal threats. Keep talking, teaching, remembering. Yes, I went to Normandy. Now, I work as hard as I can to make my childrens, and grandchild's lives more livable and secure. I work with a climate lobby group of citizens who feel deeply and work hard to save what we can. I help in food pantries, and anywhere I can to ensure our people have a sense of belonging and security. Whenever someone says "Thanks for your service" generally I see this as a nice but fairly hollow trend because so few actually serve in the military. So, I reply, "thanks for yours". Anyone trying to make us better together is doing a national service. I want everyone to understand they have a duty, and they can serve.
Thank you, Dan, for the words and music of The Ballad of Roger Young. In 1945 I was only 5 years old, but I remember singing this in school. Unfortunately m.y 5-year old ear didn't catch the words except for the final three. So for the last 77 years I've had this ear-worm of "Dum-dee-dum, dum-dee-dum dee Roger Young" I remembered he was some sort of hero, but now I know the story and why they tried to teach us the song.
My great grandmother, Pearl, said multiple times that she nearly lost her mind after losing one of her sons to World War II. I went to the Salem, Illinois cemetery, with two of her other sons, and saw Richard's grave. I wonder what happened to Richard. It is very sad that human beings endanger each other for no rational reason and, by inflicting gratuitous misery upon one person, cause exponential grief.
My father, Knute F. Dobkins, was Navy. He spent time in the Pacific on a battle ship and also spent time on land in Japan. His eldest brother Mack died aboard the U.SS. Houston. Mack was a gunner and died by bomb blast. I wasn't born until 1949 so I never got to meet him. I have photos of him. My dad and his brothers, Mack, John and Tom all enlisted in the Navy on the same day. I can only imagine how my grandmother felt when her boys came home and told her.
I have a special link to Japan. Not only because my father was there during WWII, but my best friend in 2nd grade was/is Japanese. We inseparable. Our families met at Ft. Harrison where Leslie's father was stationed [U.S. Army]. Both he and his wife had to prove their loyalty to the U.S. by either serving in the military or, as in the case of Leslie's mom, work as domestics for any family who would have them.
My parents and Leslie's parents became friends. It touched me deeply when I ran into Leslie again here in Santa Monica. She told me that her parents said we were the only people who befriended them and socialized with them. My heart is with my Dad, who passed away in 2012. He and his brothers did not bear grudges against the Japanese and were revolted by the U.S. internment camps.
My Uncle Joe Ratliff, my mom's brother, served as a Marine. He told us stories about how he crawled on his belly through jungle-like terrain holding a knife in his mouth. He got malaria, which he suffered from on and off again through the years.
I miss them all. To this day, I think of my family and miss them so much.
On this Memorial Day as on so many before, I think of my father and four of his five brothers who served in the Pacific and European theaters of WWII. They were the Klein boys, David, Samuel, Max, Joseph, and Daniel as well as additional Uncle Robert Bassman and my husband's Uncle Jerome Dorfman. The eldest of the Klein brothers, Simon, served at home as a civilian safety officer. The miracle was that they all survived! My father-in-law, Lawrence Dorfman, served in Korea during that war. My husband served as a reservist during the Viet Nam Conflict. All of my uncles are gone now, but I've told their stories to my children. May they and all the many men and women who served our nation be honored.
On past Memorial Days, my husband and I spent part of the day at Valley Forge National Park looking over the ground where the Revolutionary soldiers trained. It seemed fitting to start there with our appreciation. At other times, we visited the graves of Civil War generals and soldiers at Laurel Hill Cemetery and Gettysburg Battle Field, all located in PA.
This year, we added black ribbon to the flag flying from our home. Such sadness on the homefront.
I am remembering my Father, Edward Joseph Farrell Jr.. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor along with many other battles in the Pacific Theater. He shared his stories and always let us know the sacrifices and bravery of his comrades. He encouraged our Representatives in Congress to fight for peace and taught us that activism on that front was a Patriotic and sacred calling. He carried home asbestos damaged lungs and passed away too soon.
Thank you, Dan for this forum as I treasure the Steady community.
I remember back packing with my father and he would break out in the cadence of his youth. " Your in the army Mr. Brown..." "Over there... over there..." Wish I had a recording.
My Father was in Belgium assigned to the prision watch. His wards were German Soldiers of which the majority were Artists. The group together created a miniature town of Bethlehem with baby Jesus and all of the animals to give my Dad at Christmas as he would not be home and with them.
He brought it home and we delight every year in setting it up. Kindness is what my Father always gave away freely and was returned so many times. Thank you for giving me a place to share and to thank all those Brave Americans for all they have done and do to keep us free and safe.
My husband was a West Pointer. Class of 1961. His roommate was in the Glee Club. I heard this performance live. Still gives me chills 53 years later! And still stirs up pride in the Infantry, which my husband joined upon graduation. I was the first female instructor in the Infantry School at Ft. Benning for 5 1/2 years starting 02/ 1967.
The Ballad of Rodger Young by the West Point Glee Club in 1959 left tears. Music has a way of bringing home the valor and finality of a noble human act. To remember a young man who saved many of his comrades in an infantry battle on a remote, barren island is to understand there are so many more who did the same, without posthumous ceremony or accolades. I am a pacifist who strongly believes each and every life I too precious to give away in war. I am also a realist who must accept the reality I have lived with since as a little girl whose parents listened to the nightly news covering the Vietnam War. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley solemnly provided an ongoing script of myriad battles in a war I didn’t understand. Vietnam was burned into my young impressionable mind, and it was then that I knew I could never support the concept of war. Yet when I watch military ceremonies as Glenn Lane’s internment on the USS Arizona, emotional gratefulness and compassion for a man’s harrowing experience on Dec. 7, 1941 overwhelms me. Will humankind ever find an alternative to war? I don’t know and suspect not in my life time. So war continues, and I try to remember each and every casualty was a precious and loved being.
My father was a combat Veteran of the Korean War. He rarely talked about it, but I know that he saw a lot of death there. I always remembered to call him on Memorial Day to thank him, because I knew he was tormented by war memories. He and my stepmom used to love to listen to 40's music, even though they didn't meet until the 50's. Your wonderful description of the music of that time helps give me a better understanding of how they must have felt when they listened to it.
My brother, SSgt Joseph A Matejov, has been missing for 49 years. Here is an excerpt from Joe's last letter home, written after the peace treaty was signed with Vietnam:
He writes: "Can't wait til they release all the POWs, too. I'll really be happy to see that. I can't believe it's all over. We'll still be flying out of here, however.....Me, I only have 56 days left here myself. "
Tragically, the Air Force sent him on another mission, and his plane, the Baron 52 was shot down on Feb 4, 1973, while the release of POWs were being negotiated. 49 years later, we still seek answers. The Air Force adamantly refuses to explain findings by Segwick Tourison, hired by the Senate Select Committee on POWs/MIAs in 1992. He discovered DIA documents that listed Joe as captured. He presented this fact and other relevant findings about this mission to Senators Kerry, and McCain, yet they, too, ignored these findings.
The Secretary of the Air Force, in 2016, promised to address these Tourison documents, but then never does.. She then speaks to a Senator who suddenly withdraws from this inquiry, and a contracted newspaper article about Joe's case is suddenly cancelled.
How can we point fingers at other nations and cry "human rights violations" when we knowingly sacrifice our own men?
This Memorial Day, please keep Joe and all of the other POWs in your thoughts, and ask your Senators and Congressmen for a full accounting of their fate and an end to the coverup.
What is a contracted newspaper article?
I have been to the cemetery in France. The crosses and stars face the west, face the United States. France ceded that land to the United States so those who fought so valiantly and paid the full price are on American soil.
Thank you so much! You have Inspired me for Many years, and I greatly appreciate the stories you have shared here! 🌱. 🙏
Dan Rather, you are a pillar of my esteem for honesty and experience. My father was 2 1/2 years in the Pacific War, Saipan, Kwajelein, Battle of the Phillipeans. He was a Chief Bosun's Mate on destroyers, I later became a career Naval Officer. Yes, I lament the loss of our national purpose in seeing threats and addressing them, especially internal threats. Keep talking, teaching, remembering. Yes, I went to Normandy. Now, I work as hard as I can to make my childrens, and grandchild's lives more livable and secure. I work with a climate lobby group of citizens who feel deeply and work hard to save what we can. I help in food pantries, and anywhere I can to ensure our people have a sense of belonging and security. Whenever someone says "Thanks for your service" generally I see this as a nice but fairly hollow trend because so few actually serve in the military. So, I reply, "thanks for yours". Anyone trying to make us better together is doing a national service. I want everyone to understand they have a duty, and they can serve.
Thank you, Dan, for the words and music of The Ballad of Roger Young. In 1945 I was only 5 years old, but I remember singing this in school. Unfortunately m.y 5-year old ear didn't catch the words except for the final three. So for the last 77 years I've had this ear-worm of "Dum-dee-dum, dum-dee-dum dee Roger Young" I remembered he was some sort of hero, but now I know the story and why they tried to teach us the song.
My great grandmother, Pearl, said multiple times that she nearly lost her mind after losing one of her sons to World War II. I went to the Salem, Illinois cemetery, with two of her other sons, and saw Richard's grave. I wonder what happened to Richard. It is very sad that human beings endanger each other for no rational reason and, by inflicting gratuitous misery upon one person, cause exponential grief.
My father, Knute F. Dobkins, was Navy. He spent time in the Pacific on a battle ship and also spent time on land in Japan. His eldest brother Mack died aboard the U.SS. Houston. Mack was a gunner and died by bomb blast. I wasn't born until 1949 so I never got to meet him. I have photos of him. My dad and his brothers, Mack, John and Tom all enlisted in the Navy on the same day. I can only imagine how my grandmother felt when her boys came home and told her.
I have a special link to Japan. Not only because my father was there during WWII, but my best friend in 2nd grade was/is Japanese. We inseparable. Our families met at Ft. Harrison where Leslie's father was stationed [U.S. Army]. Both he and his wife had to prove their loyalty to the U.S. by either serving in the military or, as in the case of Leslie's mom, work as domestics for any family who would have them.
My parents and Leslie's parents became friends. It touched me deeply when I ran into Leslie again here in Santa Monica. She told me that her parents said we were the only people who befriended them and socialized with them. My heart is with my Dad, who passed away in 2012. He and his brothers did not bear grudges against the Japanese and were revolted by the U.S. internment camps.
My Uncle Joe Ratliff, my mom's brother, served as a Marine. He told us stories about how he crawled on his belly through jungle-like terrain holding a knife in his mouth. He got malaria, which he suffered from on and off again through the years.
I miss them all. To this day, I think of my family and miss them so much.
Thank you!
On this Memorial Day as on so many before, I think of my father and four of his five brothers who served in the Pacific and European theaters of WWII. They were the Klein boys, David, Samuel, Max, Joseph, and Daniel as well as additional Uncle Robert Bassman and my husband's Uncle Jerome Dorfman. The eldest of the Klein brothers, Simon, served at home as a civilian safety officer. The miracle was that they all survived! My father-in-law, Lawrence Dorfman, served in Korea during that war. My husband served as a reservist during the Viet Nam Conflict. All of my uncles are gone now, but I've told their stories to my children. May they and all the many men and women who served our nation be honored.
On past Memorial Days, my husband and I spent part of the day at Valley Forge National Park looking over the ground where the Revolutionary soldiers trained. It seemed fitting to start there with our appreciation. At other times, we visited the graves of Civil War generals and soldiers at Laurel Hill Cemetery and Gettysburg Battle Field, all located in PA.
This year, we added black ribbon to the flag flying from our home. Such sadness on the homefront.
I am remembering my Father, Edward Joseph Farrell Jr.. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor along with many other battles in the Pacific Theater. He shared his stories and always let us know the sacrifices and bravery of his comrades. He encouraged our Representatives in Congress to fight for peace and taught us that activism on that front was a Patriotic and sacred calling. He carried home asbestos damaged lungs and passed away too soon.
Thank you, Dan for this forum as I treasure the Steady community.
I remember back packing with my father and he would break out in the cadence of his youth. " Your in the army Mr. Brown..." "Over there... over there..." Wish I had a recording.
My Father was in Belgium assigned to the prision watch. His wards were German Soldiers of which the majority were Artists. The group together created a miniature town of Bethlehem with baby Jesus and all of the animals to give my Dad at Christmas as he would not be home and with them.
He brought it home and we delight every year in setting it up. Kindness is what my Father always gave away freely and was returned so many times. Thank you for giving me a place to share and to thank all those Brave Americans for all they have done and do to keep us free and safe.
Thank you to all the servicemen and servicewomen who have served our country.
My husband was a West Pointer. Class of 1961. His roommate was in the Glee Club. I heard this performance live. Still gives me chills 53 years later! And still stirs up pride in the Infantry, which my husband joined upon graduation. I was the first female instructor in the Infantry School at Ft. Benning for 5 1/2 years starting 02/ 1967.