Veterans reflect on experiences, contribution to America
More than 70 years after his B-29 was damaged by flak over Kobe, Japan, during World War II, John E. Dunnivant said he's fortunate to be alive.
"I want to forget it," Dunnivant said. "I left a lot of friends over there. The Lord blessed me beyond measure and let me live to be 91-plus years old. I did what I was required to do."
As the nation observes Veterans Day, Dunnivant joined other male and female veterans at Riverplace on Tuesday to talk about their service and contributions to America. The independent living community on River Road has 33 veterans from all branches of service, said Carol Moore, a We Care Senior Caregiver of Georgia.
A native from the hills of Tennessee, Dunnivant was part of a bombing crew in the Army Air Force from 1943-46. The plane made it back to the base but it was red, green and other colors. The trip to Japan was the toughest of 19 missions for the crew.
"The most important was staying alert," he said. "We were over water continuously.
The round trip was around 4,500 to 5,500 miles."
Leroy Gresham, 94, of Harris County spent most of his time as a Seabee in the Marine Corps when he fought his way from New Caledonia to Guadalcanal. From there, Gresham said he went to Bougainville before returning back to Guadalcanal, the scene of some of the most intense fighting during World War II. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. "We just went and people died," he said. "I was one of the fortunate ones. We were the Marine Corps."
William I. Jones, 85, made his contributions to the Korean War during his year of service in the Army. Jones said he decided to enlist after many of his friends entered the military. He served as a tank retriever after the machines were knocked out on the battle field. "I went on Pork Chop Hill but not in action," he said. "I don't have any regrets."
Jones looks at veterans today and realizes there are more wars ahead. "There are going to be wars," he said. "This is not going to be the end of it."
Lloyd Jones, 81, served two tours during the Vietnam War but smiles when the name of Hal Moore is mentioned. Moore was commander of the 1st Cavalry Division during the first major battle of the Vietnam War in the Ia Drang Battle. He wasn't with Moore during that battle, but Jones said it was difficult fighting in the jungle. "That was life," he said. "I remember the good part and try to forget the bad part. Some was fun and some wasn't." Moore and journalist Joe Galloway co-wrote the book, "We Were Soldiers Once And Young," which highlighted the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.
Several women at the facility served in the military during the Korean War and Vietnam. Caryl Brookins, 87, saw the dangers of war as a flight nurse taking care of wounded soldiers from the Korean War. She flew on a C47 hospital plane as soldiers were moved to a hospital closer to their home town. "They were wounded, and they were in bad shape," Brookins said.
On Veterans Day, Brookins said she will be thinking about caring for the soldiers. "I will be thinking about all the good times we had and think about the people," she said.
Barbara Knight, 68, spent most of her duty as a Navy dental technician, serving soldiers in San Diego. She wondered why young soldiers returned from Vietnam losing their teeth from gum disease. "You would say, 'Didn't you have a tooth brush?' They said, 'We used our tooth brush to clean our rifle,'" she said. "That was more important than their teeth. That was hard to know they were in that situation at that time."
Knight said she realizes how fortunate she was to serve in the military with a father and brother also in the military.
"I think people nowadays are instead of looking for a hand up, they are looking for a hand out," she said. "They need to get over that. What can we do instead or what can we get?"
This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Veterans reflect on experiences, contribution to America ."