With a family history steeped in military service, Veteran’s Day is always a time to reflect for us here at Jeepwaves. As it should be for everyone. Lost in the day off of work and school is the real substance of remembering service and sacrifice and being thankful before the fourth Thursday in November.
That said, we were recently going through some old heirlooms passed down from my grandfather and came across a series of newspaper clippings from Louisville, KY describing the events of his time as a POW during WWII. Injured in 1944 after bailing out of his P-47 Thunderbolt (clipping his leg on the tail section), he was captured and sent to a German controlled hospital. The details of the story can be seen below in this scan of the original article.
Long Jeep story short, it was the American Jeeps rolling down “rubble-strewn streets” that signaled an end to their ordeal, and ultimately, a sign of the end of the war on the horizon. He was 22 at the time and it’s hard to imagine the feelings going through all the soldiers minds as they saw what they did that day. My father was born two years after this happened, and was it not for countless heroes, he, and I might never have existed.
The very personal aspect of this aside, I hope it’s something we can all take pride in as we drive down paved and un-paved roads today in our Jeeps. They truly are a blessed sight. Think about THAT today and the next time you wave at a Jeep. Here’s to all those past and present who serve our country.
