About

Serendipity at 50th reunion

I thought I was just going to enjoy meeting old friends and drinking some wine. I did not expect to encounter any statues or plaques at my Holy Cross reunion.

It all started when…

But there at the bottom of the St. James Hill was this large memorial. I must have passed it on other reunions. It couldn’t have been there while I was attending college, could it? I guess I was just oblivious to the obvious.

So, this is Lt. William P. Fitzgerald Square. It was dedicated to a World War I Infantry man. So, who was he and where did he serve?

I couldn’t find out much about the lieutenant other than he was 27 when he died. I found out the following about the Second Battle of the Marne, or as it was also called - Battle of Reims. It was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack, supported by several hundred tanks, overwhelmed the Germans on their right flank, inflicting severe casualties. The German defeat marked the start of the relentless Allied advance which culminated in the Armistice with Germany about 100 days later

A photo of WWI tanks or as a friend who served in WWII called them “Mess kit repair vehicles.”

There was another stone a short distance away that referenced another famous battle of WWI - the Battle of the Bulge.

I Iearned that the phrase "Battle of the Bulge" was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps.

The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of World War II.

This surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses.

As I returned to my car, I took a closer look at the glass enclosed dedication. It remembered those from Worcester who served in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

There was also a plaque from Malvern Road School which was located across Southbridge Street not far from Holy Cross. It has since been turned into Condos. Anyway, the plague honors those who served in WWI.

I had left the college because I was going back to my hotel. My wife didn’t want to stay in a dorm. Along the way I saw a sign for the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I made it a point to stop by later and pay my respects and take pictures.

This park includes a pond, walking paths and the Memorial on four acres. It’s a place for reflection.

In fact, it is (like Gaul) divided into three places: a Place of Flags; a Place of Names; and a Place of Words.

A Place of Flags

The Place of Names has etched in stone the name of every serviceman from Massachusetts who died in Vietnam.

The Place of Words has letters written home by some sailors, airmen, soldiers, and marines. Here are two of them:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Mom

How's life back in the free world? No, my blisters haven't healed yet.

In fact, I have blisters on top of my blisters! But that is the least of my worries right now.

Yes, I received the cookies and brownies. The cookies were a little crumbled but the brownies were OK.

A little tip: Cook some popcorn and use that as a cushion for whatever you send.

I see other packages come in with popcorn surrounding them and the contents are unharmed.

We are still moving around a lot and nothing new has happened.

Well, that's it for now. Take care, see you soon.
 
                                                                                             Bob

24 April 1968
ROBERT DAVID GARIEPY
1947 – 1968

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mom & Dad,

  How's everybody doing?

Well, today is Christmas and you would never guess what happened
to me. I went on patrol during the truce today and we got into
a firefight. I was putting my men in position on the other side
of a rice paddy when a sniper opened up and shot me right in the ass.
They took me to sick bay so now I'm laying here writing.
The captain said he was going to give me a Purple Heart
tomorrow so the first chance I get I'm going to mail it home.
I just hope I don't get any more while I'm over here ....

  Right now my company is guarding a bridge 30 miles south of Da Nang.
Every night we get a few incoming mortars, or a Viet Cong will try to
crawl through the wire. Sometimes they even try to swim under water to blow up
the bridge but no luck because we aren't like the Army - we
hold anything under any circumstances ....

  Mom, of course I'm going to work with Dad when I get out of the
service. Well, I've been here almost seven months now, just a little
over five to go. Instead of having promotions every month, they're
going to have them every three months now, so you know what
that means - I won't be a Corporal for another two months - no big thing.

  I really like Irene a lot. Both of us aren't making any hasty decisions
about being married - we just talk - you know how it is - like Dad says, "puppy love."
 You know all the candy you sent me for the Vietnamese kids?
Well, me and my buddies chowed down on it.

I have to go now, so take care.
                                                            Goodnight,
                                                             Love and miss you very much,
                                                             Your son,
                                                             Doug

25 December 1967 - 13 February 1968
DOUGLAS ALLEN YOUNG
1949 - 1968

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here K-9’s are remembered for their service as sentries, scouts, trackers, and mine and tunnel detectors. The sad history about these dogs is that when their handlers returned home, those K-9’s who were not killed in action or by disease were left behind or destroyed by orders of the US Government. It wasn’t until 2000 that the law was changed and people were allowed to adopt the dogs.

Before I return home, I return to Holy Cross to give my final salute to a Medal of Honor recipient, Fr. Joseph T. O’Callahan, S.J. who is buried in the Jesuit cemetery on The Hill. Fr. O’Callahan was the chaplain aboard the aircraft carrier, the USS Franklin, when a Japanese plane dropped a bomb that scored a direct hit on his ship. According to accounts: “Within seconds, gasoline ignited and a wave of searing flame raced down the three football-field length of the hangar, gaining impetus as it proceeded from exploding planes. Some 800 men were dead or would die within the next few days.”

Father O’Callahan ministering to Robert C. Blanchard (who survived), March 19, 1945.

Fr. Callahan assisted the sailors with removing unexploded ordinance, fighting fires, aiding the sick and dying, and giving a moral encouragement to all around him. For his courageous acts, Fr. Joseph Timothy O’Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor, the first chaplain since the Civil War to be so honored.

With that last salute we leave Mt St James and the Veterans Park here in Worcester, Massachusetts and travel back down the thruway to Mahopac, New York. I hope you enjoyed the trip.