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Editorial
Marine recalls wartime kindness at McCook depot
Thursday, September 22, 2016
On the eve of the annual Heritage Days celebration, McCook Mayor Mike Gonzales received a reminder of a key part of his community's history.
Besides being home to a major air base, McCook did its best to make thousands of troops feel at home, if only for a few minutes, when troop trains stopped here during World War II.
One of them, Frank Hall, Teaneck, New Jersey, recently wrote to our mayor.
"Dear Mayor Gonzales,
"No, this is not a request for anything. Just a moment of your time for you to accept a much-belated, but heartfelt Thank You to you on behalf of your present and former residents. I say former because most of them have undoubtedly passed on.
"In November, 1942, I was aboard a train load of Marines being transported from New River, North Carolina (now Camp Lejeune) to Camp Elliot, San Diego on our way to fight the Japanese. After zig zagging from Wilson, N.C. through Birmingham, Natchez, and St. Louis, our first major stop was McCook. We had been aboard several days and were pretty bored.
"And what a pleasant surprise McCook was. A whole group of residents, mostly women and some older men immediately boarded the train with all kinds of goodies. When they asked us who had a birthday that day, we all said it was ours, so they laughed and handed out cake and cookies to all of us. We spent a most pleasant half hour or so talking with them -- about their children in the service and our thoughts about our future in the war, and then we said goodbye.When we left, we went through Denver, Cheyenne, salt flats Las Vegas, and San Bernadino. I have never forgotten the kindness and cheer of the people of McCook and always wanted to write this note of thanks, but as you can imagine, there was always some priority to take care of and say, 'I'll write tomorrow.' Finally, I have reached a point in my life at 93, where the priorities have dwindled and it is time to reflect and try to catch up and put things in order.
"In case you have a resident or two who remembers how patriotic, gracious, and generous the townspeople were during WWII, they may wonder what ever happened to the folks who were on that particular train. I don't know how many were aboard, but the Marine Corps was shipping our 21st regiment (3,000 Marines) to California to form the Third Marine Division. There were some 220 men in my company, many of whom were in my car.
"We trained in New Zealand and on Guadalcanal, then fought on Bougainville, liberated Guam, and finished up on Iwo Jima. Everyone in my company was either killed or wounded. Some 20 survivors found each other about 50 years later and spent the remainder of their years getting together, renewing old friendships that had never been forgotten or equaled. Today, there are only three of us left that I know of. Come to think of it, I'd better hurry up and finish this and get it in the mail, Ha!
"As the Marines say, Semper Fi.
Frank Hall,
Teaneck, N.J."
In the noisy confusion of modern life, more of us need to get our priorities straight and concentrate on the things that are truly important, like honoring those who have sacrificed so much for their fellow citizens.
Semper Fi, Mr. Hall.