November 11, 2024 • 57 mins
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." - George S. Patton
Wally Reitz, Oregon’s own 97-year-old Veteran shares his first-hand accounts of WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. Wally’s insights on being a soldier, serving his country, and living through it to be a husband and father are priceless. It is always the Eleventh Hour on the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month that we all stop to remember the heroes who have made a difference serving their country.
Wally Rietz, an ordinary man, shares his extraordinary story of service to his country during WWII. At 97 years of age, Wally relives serving in the Battle of the Bulge and then walking into the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. He has seen the best and the worst of humankind. We salute all the men and women who have fought for our freedom, life, and liberty and whose sacrifices in the past allow us to have peace as we age in Portland today.
Don’t miss this “up close and personal” salute to Veterans on the Aging Today podcast.
*This is a replay in honor of Wally Reitz's amazing story. *
Thank you for support and sponsorship: Royal Hospice Oregon
Wally Reitz, Oregon’s own 97-year-old Veteran shares his first-hand accounts of WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. Wally’s insights on being a soldier, serving his country, and living through it to be a husband and father are priceless. It is always the Eleventh Hour on the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month that we all stop to remember the heroes who have made a difference serving their country.
Wally Rietz, an ordinary man, shares his extraordinary story of service to his country during WWII. At 97 years of age, Wally relives serving in the Battle of the Bulge and then walking into the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. He has seen the best and the worst of humankind. We salute all the men and women who have fought for our freedom, life, and liberty and whose sacrifices in the past allow us to have peace as we age in Portland today.
Don’t miss this “up close and personal” salute to Veterans on the Aging Today podcast.
*This is a replay in honor of Wally Reitz's amazing story. *
Thank you for support and sponsorship: Royal Hospice Oregon
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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[music]
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You're listening to Aging Today, the podcast where together we explore the options to aging on your terms.
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Well, as I always am, I'm very excited about all our shows, but this is a very, very special show for me, for our country,
and for all of our listening audience, because this marks Veterans Day.
(02:40):
And Veterans Day is a very special time because it's a time of remembrance.
It's a time of paying a tribute to all those who have served in the armed services throughout the years.
And we do want to acknowledge every vet, all the men and women who have made this country safe
and who have made this country a free place for all of us to enjoy.
(03:05):
But today for Veterans Day, I'm going to focus on World War II and the vets of the World War II era.
And the reason is because, you know, it's a generation that we're going to be losing.
And every day we're losing more and more of that generation.
(03:27):
And it's a very special time before this generation is gone.
We want to capture their stories and capture the sacrifices that they have made to make this country what it is today.
And so today, I have come across a very special man.
I just have recently met him. His name is Wally Reitz, and Wally was a veteran in World War II.
(03:53):
And Wally, welcome to today's show.
Thank you very much. Glad to be here.
Yeah, I'm excited for you to be here and to tell your story. You have a fascinating story.
Well, I appreciate your comments about the veterans and those that we lost. That was very nice of you.
Yeah. To say that.
Yeah, well, and, you know, every war, we lose some very valuable people.
(04:17):
And World War II is without exception.
In fact, what a sacrifice your generation made.
We're talking millions of Americans that had perished and lost their lives, gave their lives up.
And we're talking about millions around the world that also gave up their lives for the sake of the rest of us.
(04:40):
It's amazing when you consider that we lost 1,076,000 men in women during the combat.
Yeah. And that's what we don't want to forget. We don't want to forget the sacrifices that those people have made.
So, veterans day for those in the younger generation that may not know what veterans day is or when did it get started.
(05:08):
It actually was, it started at the end of the first World War in 1918.
And the men and women from several countries got together.
They made the, at the 11th hour, the 11th day and the 11th month, they named it Armistice Day.
(05:32):
And here in America, it's kind of changed around a little bit, but we're back to every November 11th.
And especially we should be celebrating at the 11th hour.
We should be celebrating our veterans in the past wars, but especially World War II.
And so, I just wanted to remind our listening audience that that's how it began.
(05:54):
And we've been celebrating for years. And I hope that we'll continue in this great nation to continue to celebrate all those that have served in the Armed Forces.
But let's get back, let's get to Wally. And it's okay to call you Wally, not Walter.
No, no, no. That's the label that I've been named with, they're called with.
(06:16):
So let's stick with it.
Yeah. And so tell us a little bit about where you grew up and where you were born.
And we'll begin, you're telling your story.
I was born in 1923 in the rural area of suburb of Chicago.
It was about 25 miles north of Chicago in Highland Park, Illinois.
(06:40):
And the subdivision in the south end of Highland Park was Ravinia.
And that's where I was born. And I was actually born in the house that my parents had built.
Yeah. And the times were so different.
And sometimes it's hard for this generation, unless you go back into some of the archives and see the pictures, the living conditions,
(07:03):
that you were under. And it was a very frugal society.
There wasn't a lot of department stores where you could go down and buy all your goods.
And so it was a very interesting time.
That's true. Actually, in those days the Iceman came and came all the way around to the back of the house
(07:25):
and walked right in the door and took care of the refrigerator without anybody being there.
And the milkman delivered into a box that was outside and picked up the note and see what we wanted and left it.
And they had to walk quite a ways just to get to the back of the house.
(07:47):
But that was what they did in those days.
Sure. Now your mom and dad, what did your dad do for a living and your mom?
Well, my dad started out. The first thing he did was he had a grease gun.
Somebody gave him that franchise or whatever it was. He went around selling grease guns.
(08:08):
And then they changed the recipient of the grease.
And that put them out of business.
So he went with the ill-guetetric ventilating company and air conditioning.
That company was one of the many that supplied all of the landing ships, the crafts with air conditioning and refrigeration and so forth.
(08:39):
And then your mom, was she staying at home mom? It was pretty traditional back in those days.
And then how many siblings did you have?
I had two brothers, three years older than I am.
And unfortunately he's blind but he's in good health.
(09:03):
I guess one of the genes that he had.
Then I had a younger brother that was about eight years younger than me and he lives in Ohio.
Okay, so you were right there in the middle and right in the middle.
And so then from growing up in the Chicago area in a little suburb, then you decided to go to college?
(09:29):
Yeah, well, you know, I didn't decide anything.
It was kind of understood in our family that you were going to go.
There was no discussion about it.
You just expected of you and that's it.
Knowing your story, I think that was a good choice that that expectation was there because it afforded you some opportunities as our listening audience is going to be there.
(09:58):
I wanted to do a little bit with your parents and how they raised you, I think.
But a good loving home.
It was very nice to live the way we did.
I didn't have any problems with my parents except in the beginning they were kind of stupid but it turned out that they probably would be the other way around.
(10:27):
So, I mean, you were living a pretty good lifestyle.
I mean, everything was simple and fun and frallicky and you go to the University of Illinois.
Right.
You went and rolled at University of Illinois.
Exactly.
And what year was that?
I went to University of Illinois in 1941.
1941.
So, if I remember correctly.
(10:49):
Yeah, yeah.
So, there was a day that kind of changed the world.
And it was an important day that kind of shocked the world, I think it shocked you.
And it was the day of the Pearl Harbor attack.
That is correct.
1941.
(11:11):
And December 7th, when the Japanese hit Hawaii and did the damage that they did there.
It knocked out a lot of our fleet and did a tremendous amount of damage.
But it wasn't long after that that we went to, when we first heard that the announcement that came across the radio.
(11:41):
It was in the dormitory at the University of Illinois and everybody just jumped out of the, whatever they were doing.
And we all went outside and joined a chain gang.
And the chain gang just started seeing, we don't give a damn for the old state of Japan, which I guess we respect now.
(12:10):
Yeah.
At that time, yeah.
And of course, we, the chain gang, traveled toward the University to hear from the President of the University.
And people were coming out of their houses and it was amazing.
The turnout seemed that everybody in Champaign, Urbana, where the University was turned out for that.
(12:37):
It was quite a, quite a show.
And then of course, the next day we all, a bunch of us went in and tried to enlist and, yeah, the Air Force was the only thing we could find.
Yeah.
And they gave us that fatherly touch.
Boys, you go back to school.
(12:58):
We've got more applications than we could ever.
And we're in the University of Illinois as a freshman and you heard these immortal words from FDR, our President.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.
(13:22):
The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation.
And then at the solicitation of Japan was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
(13:56):
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces.
And those immortal words from our President, FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, they still ring loud and true in your ears.
(14:18):
That is correct.
Yeah. It just says if you were there back then, it brings up a lot of memories, huh?
Yes, it does.
Yeah.
When you heard those words and you were describing a little bit about how that brought this country together and you were describing what was happening on your campus and the boys all got together and went down and they couldn't wait to get in line to enlist.
(14:46):
That is correct, yeah.
What a difference that day is as opposed to today.
That is correct. You're right.
Very much so.
Which leads me to believe when they say that your generation was the world's greatest generation.
I mean, those were some of the attributes that you all had was for honor and duty and sacrifice.
(15:10):
That is true.
And the other thing I think is so important to remember is that at that time, whether it...there wasn't any antagonism and battle between political parties or anything like that.
Everybody was for liberty and for their country and it was just a beautiful time of life when everybody basically had the same thoughts a little bit differently because you were either Republican or a Democrat but there wasn't that much difference in those days.
(15:53):
Yeah.
And...
There was still one nation.
Yes, it was still one nation.
One nation under God.
Yeah.
And so the government then is...you know, we're proclaiming going to war.
And so one of the things I think that would help unifying bring this country together was music.
Music played a powerful role in that day and the Andrews sisters were at the top of the charts.
(16:20):
And they were the ones that were bringing that inspiration and that motivation and kind of, you know, the romance, if you will, of the opportunity to go to war.
And I just wanted to play for you some that...what the Andrews sisters had written, Johnny Get Your Gun.
(16:41):
Music played a powerful role in that day.
Music played a powerful role in that day.
(17:10):
Music played a powerful role in that day.
Oh, that can take you back quite a while, doesn't it?
(17:50):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
And the music did play a significant role in motivating and inspiring.
And now when you heard that...
And entertaining.
And entertaining.
Yeah.
Which we're going to get into a little bit because the music of your day, I love the music of your day.
The swing.
(18:11):
We're going to get into that in just a little bit.
But I want our listening audience to know where you went when you got that call to go into the military,
to go into the army, to enlist.
And where did you go?
Well, actually, I was in the...what they call the ROTC, which each university picked up this from the government.
(18:36):
It's a training...this is very fortunate that the training was going on at that time.
But the ROTC was in...we had it. Illinois were strictly horses.
So we were the cavalry of the organization of war, I guess.
(19:00):
Kind of a holdover from World War I, yeah, exactly.
And anyway, when I was called up, we were sent to Fort Riley, Kansas.
And that's where they had the cavalry school.
And that's where we got our basic training.
And those doggo walks forever, the hikes and so forth with a pack.
(19:26):
And they were, as exactly, much fun in that hot climate, but we did it.
And the best part of it, of course, was we transferred from using horses at the University of Illinois
to using motorcycles.
So we had our Harley Davidson's 45s.
Oh, if I...if you could have one of those today.
(19:49):
Yeah, oh, yeah.
And we had to learn how to tear them down and put them back together again.
It was a pretty thorough indoctrination of that, plus using learning how to shoot
and also crawling under a barbed wire while there was a tentatively shooting over your head.
(20:12):
But I'm not sure you sure they were using it.
And this was all at the age of 18, right?
Were you 18, 19, and somewhere around now?
Yeah, you got it.
Yeah, and what a change of your world coming from a rural area in Illinois
and now you're thrust into military operations and you're crawling under the barbed wire and in the mud.
(20:38):
Yeah, there's a lot of things like that that are happening to you with it.
Our brand new and you don't know what's going to be around the corner.
Yeah.
But a lot of different things happened to each and every soldier that went into the service.
Yeah.
(20:59):
Now you had an accident, correct?
As you're on these motorcycles, these Harley-Davidson's?
Yeah, I was allowed to join my lieutenant and sergeant behind the column we were going out on maneuvers.
And we hit gravel roads and we were alternating.
(21:21):
I finally had to go to the rear and once we hit the gravel, the dust was terrible.
And the two motorcycles in front of me had spread so much dust.
We came to a curve and I didn't catch that curve and I went down and hit one of these.
(21:42):
They were rock walls that the farmers built, took the rocks out of the field and built these walls.
I smashed right into that and both me and the motorcycles, some were sold at about 15 feet over the wall and of course I was out.
You knocked you out?
(22:03):
Yeah, yeah.
And then when I did wake up, there were three girls standing over me and white.
I didn't know what was going on.
Actually, there were college girls going to a dance at some university party and they happened to see me out there.
(22:27):
So I told them, I think I'm fine.
You thought you'd died and went to heaven?
I could wake up with three college girls all dressed in white.
They didn't have wings on her anything.
I've read none.
So from Fort Riley, then you went to officers' candidate school, is that correct?
We went back to Illinois for an opening and they went to offers' candidate school and graduated from there.
(22:56):
And then how did you get to California?
Well, actually what they did, they knew I had a car and they gave me the food stamps.
And that of course is another whole story, the amounts of censorship and the allocation of oils and leather.
(23:21):
But everything was rationed and the only way you could get anything was to get certain food stamps or gasoline stamps.
And they had a, every town had a board that authorized, figured out what your excuse was or what your need was.
(23:45):
And they gave you sufficient stuff to take care of your jobs, but not enough to do traveling or anything else.
Just bear necessities.
And then recycling came in very strong at that point too.
And we think our generation has a corner on the market when it comes to recycling today.
(24:06):
And yet you did it for good reasons to reuse, recycle because the very limited resource is available.
Yeah, so just amazing though.
And you think that what happened then was in thinking about it, if it would happen today would be terrible.
(24:30):
But you had the government was able to censor you, your mail, they could even drop, this is what they authorized.
They froze wages.
And they froze rents and things like this pretty much.
And it was, it was something that we were prepared for trying a war.
(24:59):
And this is the only country in the world that could possibly fight a war in over two different oceans and come out on top.
That's what America was.
I hope we can keep it that way and not go into some other kind of ism or other type of government because what we have should never be lost.
(25:25):
Yeah, but as we are going to today acknowledge and give a tribute to all those that made those sacrifices to make these freedoms what they are today.
But let's go back to your back at 19 years of age and you find yourself in California at Camp Cook, which is the same as Vanderberg Air Force Base, correct?
(25:48):
That is correct.
Okay, and so life was good for Wally back then. I mean, you were 19 years of age, you were going to officers training school and there's some perks that go along with being an officer.
You did a lot of dancing, did you not?
Oh, I don't know about that.
Yeah, I think so.
I got a great story that I want my listening audience to here, but first of all, I want to reeducate our listening audience to the sounds of the day of the music that was swing and the Andrew sisters.
(26:22):
[Music]
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[Music]
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(28:52):
Okay, so you have the amazing music back then and you did grab a gal at a dance.
Tell us the story, very special story. You're an officers training school. You're invited to go to a dance, pick it up from there.
Well, it wasn't an officer training school. I was actually in one of the units as the division, but anyway, we did have a chance to get a break.
(29:21):
By a buddy of mine said he would get me a date down in LA.
So we headed down that way and he said, "I've got you a date for you too, so don't worry about it."
(29:42):
Anyway, he wanted to see his girlfriend and we got together, the four of us got together and went out to the palladium which is a huge dance center.
That thing was a mammoth place and beautiful music.
The gal that I had for a date was a dead, was in the movie making business. He was a producer.
(30:15):
This gal got around a little bit. Anyway, we were dancing and she all of a sudden saw this guy that she either had dated or knew and wanted to dance with.
She at least had her eyes on him. She said, "Could you dance over there?"
I'd like to break in on that gentleman.
(30:42):
We did that and she tapped him on the shoulder. He broke away and left his girl there standing.
She turned around and I immediately looked at her and I almost got off the excited. It was a lot of turner.
(31:09):
To this day she was quite an experienced.
I guess dancing with Lana Turner.
It was kind of fun. She was very gracious. Everything worked out fine.
What a great story. It was.
This is the beginning of you meeting some very interesting people throughout your life and your time in the military as you were sent overseas.
(31:34):
Now it's 1944 and you've been assigned to the 11th armored Calvary. Is that correct?
Yeah. 1941st Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron is the correct terminology.
You were assigned there and then tell us a little bit about what that experience was like being assigned.
(31:59):
Then they decided they were going to ship you out of the United States and you got on a boat, correct?
Yeah, we got on a little bit bigger than a boat with a ship.
Yeah, anyway, bigger than a canoe.
We went from the west coast to the east coast and then got on a ship and went over to South Hampton, England.
(32:27):
From there we moved up our unit, moved up into a town called Chippenham, England.
We did a very little training there. It was just a matter of waiting game, I guess, until they needed us.
From there, of course, we were finally called up and went over to Normandy and landed in the Normandy area on December 16th, which turned out to be the same date that the German counteroffensive of the big battle of the bulge began.
(33:13):
Again, music plays a huge role in the war effort and I wanted to play a song, "The White Cliffs of Dover," because they're amazing.
I've seen them and I have not had a chance to go over there, but I've seen them in some of the movies.
Yeah, I have to.
(33:34):
They're fabulous.
They've been like to be these planes flying over their home country, liberating England.
There'll be blueprints of the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see.
(34:18):
There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after tomorrow when the world is free.
(34:40):
Beautiful music.
Oh, yeah.
I got tears in my eyes.
That was a song that you knew very well back then.
Oh, yeah, it's very much so.
So you're there in France, you're in Normandy, and where do you go from there?
Hitler's counterattack occurred on the same day as we started landing.
(35:07):
The whole division, our whole division, took several days to actually get off the boats and get reorganized.
We tore up through Paris.
We weren't supposed to go there originally, but we were immediately directed by General Eisenhower to get into the battle and they needed help, bad.
(35:35):
And this battle, it was a very famous battle.
Yes, one of the biggest, probably, I don't know if there were a lot of big battles, I guess, but it certainly was a dangerous time.
And it was called the Battle of the Bulge.
Yeah, exactly.
(35:57):
And you found yourself all of a sudden, right in the midst of it?
That is true.
That is true. We raised up to the Ardens and it was terrible weather, cold, and snowy.
So this was the month of December?
Yeah, this was the 16th of December.
And I think we got up there toward the round Christmas time.
(36:23):
Actually, I can remember definitely we were still in the Ardens before we'd actually met the enemy.
Yeah.
And the Battle of the Bulge was one of the most significant battles that the United States was involved in and became a turning point, but it was pretty iffy for there for a while.
That is for sure.
Yeah, the Germans made about a 40-mile sweep right into our units, not our units, but the units that were there, the divisions.
(36:56):
They had the 3rd and the 5th Panzer divisions, which were really well organized and well experienced in war because they had been in number of battles.
Now, then your job with your division was to do what?
(37:18):
Well, actually, my unit was taken out of the control of my division and sent to a given to a temporarily to another unit, another division.
And we were supposed to take care of the South Flake and guard that and also create a diversion with our assault guns.
(37:53):
So we set up to do that and that was a time that the commanding officer of that division asked us to move up further toward the front lines, which was not a good idea, but we had to do what he told us to do.
(38:16):
So we moved up and to the bottom of a big hill and we climbed the hill, streaking our wire up.
I mean, the troops set up, our units set up on the bottom of the hill and then we getting ready to fire.
(38:38):
And then we went up to be forward observer and set up an art command. And when we got up to the very top, it was the most amazing thing.
It had a rim around it about a hundred yards wide.
And it was a huge, dynamic crater. And the bottom of that crater was so big, here was a town sitting down, way down below us with the church and steeple in the center of it.
(39:18):
And nothing moving at all. There was nobody like it had been deserted. I don't know where everybody was staking their homes, I guess.
But we were set up to fire, but we didn't know exactly what to fire. We weren't afraid of the town.
(39:41):
So we were getting ready to go ahead and test our ammunition.
So I called for the first round to be smoked so that we could adjust the trajectory that we needed to hit any targets.
(40:04):
And before they even shot the first round, the forest area about a mile and a half across from us opened up at a battle of flames.
And all our Germans were hidden in that forest and all ready for whatever was to come. And they just shot into our position.
(40:34):
And obviously we were devastated at that point in time. And so actually what happened is we had to...
When I went back to look and see where they were, they had already taken off.
With the injured and carried them back to the back lines.
(41:01):
So I lost my sergeant at that point in time and a number of men. And it wasn't a pleasant time, but it sure taught us a lesson.
And we learned very well from that and for the future. The other battles we were in.
We always took great care of where we put our equipment and where we set up.
(41:28):
And there was a very famous general that I'm sure are listening on Inc. as well aware of, General Patton.
Well, yeah, General Patton operated. I mean he was probably one of the really great experts.
(41:51):
We used to care about the English being tiptoes. They go and fight a few hundred yards or a few miles a day.
Not General Patton. He'd get ready to go 30 or 40 miles in that same day.
(42:17):
We would probably lose a few more people that way, but overall about one tenth of what...
If you were doing it inch by inch, so to speak. So he was a great...
And the Germans were making great progress in running over the US troops in the battle of the bulge.
(42:41):
And so General Patton got involved in... He took that strategy that you just explained.
Exactly.
And it kind of turned at that point. The historians say that the reason why it turned was that they ran out of petrol.
The Germans did. And they were moving so fast that they couldn't get their supply lines up there in the front fast enough.
(43:07):
And then their tanks were so big that they bogged down in the snow and in the soft ground.
So that helped the ally offensive.
It did help some. That's for sure. In fact it probably helped a lot.
But that was a great time.
(43:31):
Did you ever get a chance to meet General Patton?
Yes, I did. Not meet him personally, no. But when we were at the SIG Freed Line, he came by and he was...
I guess maybe twenty, thirty feet from where I was. And here he stayed in there by his Jeep.
(43:57):
He had his two pistol, his two famous guns on each side. And he was talking to our commander.
It was interesting just to see him. And the very fact that he was there of course, kind of bolstered the troops.
So it was good.
(44:20):
And then from there you went into Austria. Is that correct?
Yeah, there was a couple of other battles that we had wanted to sew in places where we got...
(44:41):
The Germans were slowly retreating.
So the war was changing and the tide was changing?
Before we...any of this happened though, the Battle of the Bulge before we crossed over into Germany, we had to go from...
They called our unit and we had to go and close the bulge from the southern border to the northern border to meet up with the first army of...
(45:10):
which was commanded by an Englishman. I forget the name of the general right off hand, but Mark...
Anyway, that's...it probably...it'll probably come to me at some other toy time.
(45:31):
But anyway, after that of course we didn't run into a little resistance from the town to town, but not much.
As you say, and then we went to Austria.
And Austria was to be the national redout. That would...more of a place where they were to make their last stand.
(45:56):
But I guess Hitler decided to move up in Munich and...or not Munich, I mean Berlin.
Berlin? Yeah.
And then you saw some of the uglier side of war. All war is ugly and devastating and death, but there was some places that you went that shocked, probably even you.
(46:25):
Well, there's no words in the English language to cover the devastation and the cruelty of concentration camps.
There were some crazy people running...either running those camps or...there's...assistance were...as cruel as anything could be.
(46:54):
So it was...it was horrible experience to walk into that.
The...our unit...part of our cavalry unit was the first to go in there and their pictures showing our arrival there at Mounthausen, which was just south of the town of Lins.
(47:21):
And I say south, I'm sorry, it would be east of Litsch on the other side of...on the north side of the Danube.
And I didn't go in until the following day. And it was amazing to me to see...these people...his skeletons were...a few of them that couldn't...
(47:48):
thousands of them had already left, but there were ones that couldn't...couldn't leave.
Or just skeletons walking around. And they...they looked like death warmed over, but we watched some of them come up to you and...and they just dropped dead.
(48:12):
They were so excited and so emaciated. I mean, and the stench and so forth of the...crematoriums and...it was just a pretty horrible, horrible experience.
And nothing I've ever seen in this world or expect to see is...is bad as that was.
(48:41):
And we should never forget this country, the world should never forget so that we don't repeat history ever, ever again when it comes to the death concentration.
That is true. That is very true.
You know, you've experienced a lot in 97 years. You're 97, correct?
(49:02):
Okay, so you've experienced a lot. You have a lot of wisdom. You have a lot of wisdom and skill. And you've seen so much.
You've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, that what our human society brings.
What do you want to share with the next generation?
I think the most important thing that I want is that the people understand, the children understand the history of this country.
(49:33):
For our forefathers it created in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and how that all happened and how we fought the war.
Why they did it to escape the very thing that there are some people in this country now want us to vote for or to go to some different type of government,
(49:59):
whether it be socialism or communism or any other kind.
When you do that, you're going to end up with a dictatorship no matter what. Just like China has in pretty much the same thing as Russia.
My only wish is that we observe what we have here, the greatest country in the world.
(50:23):
And we always will be if laws that we understand our history.
Well said, Wally. Well said. And I appreciate the honor. I appreciate the courage and the duty that your generation brought to this great country.
(50:44):
And I hope that the younger generations will look back on history and remember the sacrifices that your generation has made.
And that we won't re-have to ever repeat this ever again and that we'll stand tall and we'll defend democracy.
We'll defend the rights of the we, the people, for the people and by the people.
(51:10):
And that's what I hope that your testimony today will bring.
And I want to leave our listening audience and I want to leave you a tribute, a song that means a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to you.
And this song is a very important song and it's a message for your generation out of gratitude.
(51:40):
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(52:01):
Keep smiling through just like you always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.
So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long.
(52:33):
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(53:05):
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(53:27):
Keep smiling through just like you always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.
So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long.
(53:59):
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
(54:30):
Yes, I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
On behalf of Aging today and Comfort Care, Wally, thank you for the sacrifices that you and your generation has made for this great country.
(54:57):
My condolences to all the people that you have lost in your lifetime and what you've seen the ugly side of this world.
Thank you, Mark.
And it's been a pleasure to meet you and we'll see you again.
This is Mark Turnbull, your host, and I want to thank all of you for tuning in to Aging today.
And we are the podcast where together we're exploring the many options to Aging on your terms.
(55:24):
Join us every Monday when we release a new conversation on Aging today to your favorite podcast channel.
And remember, we're all in the process of Aging.
And as we age, we really are better together.
So stay young at heart.
You make me feel so young.
You make me feel like spring is coming.
(55:47):
And every time I see your face, I'm such a happy individual.
A moment that you speak.
I want to go play hide and see.
I want to go and bounce the moon just like a toy balloon.
Well, you and I, I'll just like a bullet tarts running across the metal.
(56:15):
They can have lots of forgetmint nights so you made me feel so young.
You made me feel there are songs to be sung.
There will be a run and a wonderful thing to be found.
And you know when I'm old and grey.
You've been listening to Aging today where together we explore the options to Aging on your terms.
(56:38):
Join Mark and his guest next week for another lively discussion on proactively Aging on your terms.
Connecting you to the professional advice of his special guests with the goal of creating better days throughout the aging process.
Your host has been Mark Turnbull.
Join Mark and his guest every week on Aging today, your podcast to exploring your options for Aging on your terms.
(57:03):
And you and I will be grey.
You make me feel the way I feel today.
You make me feel so young.
So young.
(57:24):
You make me feel so young.
You make me feel so young.
(upbeat music)
(music ends)
[music]
(00:02):
You're listening to Aging Today, the podcast where together we explore the options to aging on your terms.
When I get older, those are my hair, and he's from now on.
Will you still be sending me a fountain of time, where they creep out of the wild,
(00:26):
if I did a quarter or three, would you like to do?
Will you still be, will you still be when I'm sixty-four?
And now the podcast where together we discuss proactive aging on your terms,
(00:48):
connecting to the professional advice of our special guests,
while creating better days throughout the aging process.
Now here's your host, Mark Turnbull.
And welcome back to another lively discussion on Aging Today.
We are the podcast where together we explore the many options to aging on your terms.
You can find Aging Today and our seven years of past programs on our website.
(01:12):
All you got to do is dial in to agingtoday.us.
It's www.AgingToday.us. And then for those of you that follow us on your favorite podcast channels such as Spotify, Pandora, Apple, I Heart, YouTube,
there are so many, we're like on about fifteen different channels out there.
(01:33):
All you got to do is type in aging today in the search button, follow us,
and you can dive into the archives of seven years of past programs on the aging experience.
And then we want to know the questions that you're asking on aging.
(01:54):
So feel free to reach out to me, your host, Mark Turnbull.
And my email is Mark with a KMark at agingtoday.us.
And then we also want to know that if you know of any aging experts out there addressing any topic,
that we haven't touched on or maybe you want to go into a deeper level of some topic we have touched on,
(02:17):
reach out to me again, your host, Mark Turnbull, and my email is Mark at agingtoday.us.
Well, as I always am, I'm very excited about all our shows, but this is a very, very special show for me, for our country,
and for all of our listening audience, because this marks Veterans Day.
(02:40):
And Veterans Day is a very special time because it's a time of remembrance.
It's a time of paying a tribute to all those who have served in the armed services throughout the years.
And we do want to acknowledge every vet, all the men and women who have made this country safe
and who have made this country a free place for all of us to enjoy.
(03:05):
But today for Veterans Day, I'm going to focus on World War II and the vets of the World War II era.
And the reason is because, you know, it's a generation that we're going to be losing.
And every day we're losing more and more of that generation.
(03:27):
And it's a very special time before this generation is gone.
We want to capture their stories and capture the sacrifices that they have made to make this country what it is today.
And so today, I have come across a very special man.
I just have recently met him. His name is Wally Reitz, and Wally was a veteran in World War II.
(03:53):
And Wally, welcome to today's show.
Thank you very much. Glad to be here.
Yeah, I'm excited for you to be here and to tell your story. You have a fascinating story.
Well, I appreciate your comments about the veterans and those that we lost. That was very nice of you.
Yeah. To say that.
Yeah, well, and, you know, every war, we lose some very valuable people.
(04:17):
And World War II is without exception.
In fact, what a sacrifice your generation made.
We're talking millions of Americans that had perished and lost their lives, gave their lives up.
And we're talking about millions around the world that also gave up their lives for the sake of the rest of us.
(04:40):
It's amazing when you consider that we lost 1,076,000 men in women during the combat.
Yeah. And that's what we don't want to forget. We don't want to forget the sacrifices that those people have made.
So, veterans day for those in the younger generation that may not know what veterans day is or when did it get started.
(05:08):
It actually was, it started at the end of the first World War in 1918.
And the men and women from several countries got together.
They made the, at the 11th hour, the 11th day and the 11th month, they named it Armistice Day.
(05:32):
And here in America, it's kind of changed around a little bit, but we're back to every November 11th.
And especially we should be celebrating at the 11th hour.
We should be celebrating our veterans in the past wars, but especially World War II.
And so, I just wanted to remind our listening audience that that's how it began.
(05:54):
And we've been celebrating for years. And I hope that we'll continue in this great nation to continue to celebrate all those that have served in the Armed Forces.
But let's get back, let's get to Wally. And it's okay to call you Wally, not Walter.
No, no, no. That's the label that I've been named with, they're called with.
(06:16):
So let's stick with it.
Yeah. And so tell us a little bit about where you grew up and where you were born.
And we'll begin, you're telling your story.
I was born in 1923 in the rural area of suburb of Chicago.
It was about 25 miles north of Chicago in Highland Park, Illinois.
(06:40):
And the subdivision in the south end of Highland Park was Ravinia.
And that's where I was born. And I was actually born in the house that my parents had built.
Yeah. And the times were so different.
And sometimes it's hard for this generation, unless you go back into some of the archives and see the pictures, the living conditions,
(07:03):
that you were under. And it was a very frugal society.
There wasn't a lot of department stores where you could go down and buy all your goods.
And so it was a very interesting time.
That's true. Actually, in those days the Iceman came and came all the way around to the back of the house
(07:25):
and walked right in the door and took care of the refrigerator without anybody being there.
And the milkman delivered into a box that was outside and picked up the note and see what we wanted and left it.
And they had to walk quite a ways just to get to the back of the house.
(07:47):
But that was what they did in those days.
Sure. Now your mom and dad, what did your dad do for a living and your mom?
Well, my dad started out. The first thing he did was he had a grease gun.
Somebody gave him that franchise or whatever it was. He went around selling grease guns.
(08:08):
And then they changed the recipient of the grease.
And that put them out of business.
So he went with the ill-guetetric ventilating company and air conditioning.
That company was one of the many that supplied all of the landing ships, the crafts with air conditioning and refrigeration and so forth.
(08:39):
And then your mom, was she staying at home mom? It was pretty traditional back in those days.
And then how many siblings did you have?
I had two brothers, three years older than I am.
And unfortunately he's blind but he's in good health.
(09:03):
I guess one of the genes that he had.
Then I had a younger brother that was about eight years younger than me and he lives in Ohio.
Okay, so you were right there in the middle and right in the middle.
And so then from growing up in the Chicago area in a little suburb, then you decided to go to college?
(09:29):
Yeah, well, you know, I didn't decide anything.
It was kind of understood in our family that you were going to go.
There was no discussion about it.
You just expected of you and that's it.
Knowing your story, I think that was a good choice that that expectation was there because it afforded you some opportunities as our listening audience is going to be there.
(09:58):
I wanted to do a little bit with your parents and how they raised you, I think.
But a good loving home.
It was very nice to live the way we did.
I didn't have any problems with my parents except in the beginning they were kind of stupid but it turned out that they probably would be the other way around.
(10:27):
So, I mean, you were living a pretty good lifestyle.
I mean, everything was simple and fun and frallicky and you go to the University of Illinois.
Right.
You went and rolled at University of Illinois.
Exactly.
And what year was that?
I went to University of Illinois in 1941.
1941.
So, if I remember correctly.
(10:49):
Yeah, yeah.
So, there was a day that kind of changed the world.
And it was an important day that kind of shocked the world, I think it shocked you.
And it was the day of the Pearl Harbor attack.
That is correct.
1941.
(11:11):
And December 7th, when the Japanese hit Hawaii and did the damage that they did there.
It knocked out a lot of our fleet and did a tremendous amount of damage.
But it wasn't long after that that we went to, when we first heard that the announcement that came across the radio.
(11:41):
It was in the dormitory at the University of Illinois and everybody just jumped out of the, whatever they were doing.
And we all went outside and joined a chain gang.
And the chain gang just started seeing, we don't give a damn for the old state of Japan, which I guess we respect now.
(12:10):
Yeah.
At that time, yeah.
And of course, we, the chain gang, traveled toward the University to hear from the President of the University.
And people were coming out of their houses and it was amazing.
The turnout seemed that everybody in Champaign, Urbana, where the University was turned out for that.
(12:37):
It was quite a, quite a show.
And then of course, the next day we all, a bunch of us went in and tried to enlist and, yeah, the Air Force was the only thing we could find.
Yeah.
And they gave us that fatherly touch.
Boys, you go back to school.
(12:58):
We've got more applications than we could ever.
And we're in the University of Illinois as a freshman and you heard these immortal words from FDR, our President.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.
(13:22):
The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation.
And then at the solicitation of Japan was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
(13:56):
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces.
And those immortal words from our President, FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, they still ring loud and true in your ears.
(14:18):
That is correct.
Yeah. It just says if you were there back then, it brings up a lot of memories, huh?
Yes, it does.
Yeah.
When you heard those words and you were describing a little bit about how that brought this country together and you were describing what was happening on your campus and the boys all got together and went down and they couldn't wait to get in line to enlist.
(14:46):
That is correct, yeah.
What a difference that day is as opposed to today.
That is correct. You're right.
Very much so.
Which leads me to believe when they say that your generation was the world's greatest generation.
I mean, those were some of the attributes that you all had was for honor and duty and sacrifice.
(15:10):
That is true.
And the other thing I think is so important to remember is that at that time, whether it...there wasn't any antagonism and battle between political parties or anything like that.
Everybody was for liberty and for their country and it was just a beautiful time of life when everybody basically had the same thoughts a little bit differently because you were either Republican or a Democrat but there wasn't that much difference in those days.
(15:53):
Yeah.
And...
There was still one nation.
Yes, it was still one nation.
One nation under God.
Yeah.
And so the government then is...you know, we're proclaiming going to war.
And so one of the things I think that would help unifying bring this country together was music.
Music played a powerful role in that day and the Andrews sisters were at the top of the charts.
(16:20):
And they were the ones that were bringing that inspiration and that motivation and kind of, you know, the romance, if you will, of the opportunity to go to war.
And I just wanted to play for you some that...what the Andrews sisters had written, Johnny Get Your Gun.
(16:41):
Music played a powerful role in that day.
Music played a powerful role in that day.
(17:10):
Music played a powerful role in that day.
Oh, that can take you back quite a while, doesn't it?
(17:50):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
And the music did play a significant role in motivating and inspiring.
And now when you heard that...
And entertaining.
And entertaining.
Yeah.
Which we're going to get into a little bit because the music of your day, I love the music of your day.
The swing.
(18:11):
We're going to get into that in just a little bit.
But I want our listening audience to know where you went when you got that call to go into the military,
to go into the army, to enlist.
And where did you go?
Well, actually, I was in the...what they call the ROTC, which each university picked up this from the government.
(18:36):
It's a training...this is very fortunate that the training was going on at that time.
But the ROTC was in...we had it. Illinois were strictly horses.
So we were the cavalry of the organization of war, I guess.
(19:00):
Kind of a holdover from World War I, yeah, exactly.
And anyway, when I was called up, we were sent to Fort Riley, Kansas.
And that's where they had the cavalry school.
And that's where we got our basic training.
And those doggo walks forever, the hikes and so forth with a pack.
(19:26):
And they were, as exactly, much fun in that hot climate, but we did it.
And the best part of it, of course, was we transferred from using horses at the University of Illinois
to using motorcycles.
So we had our Harley Davidson's 45s.
Oh, if I...if you could have one of those today.
(19:49):
Yeah, oh, yeah.
And we had to learn how to tear them down and put them back together again.
It was a pretty thorough indoctrination of that, plus using learning how to shoot
and also crawling under a barbed wire while there was a tentatively shooting over your head.
(20:12):
But I'm not sure you sure they were using it.
And this was all at the age of 18, right?
Were you 18, 19, and somewhere around now?
Yeah, you got it.
Yeah, and what a change of your world coming from a rural area in Illinois
and now you're thrust into military operations and you're crawling under the barbed wire and in the mud.
(20:38):
Yeah, there's a lot of things like that that are happening to you with it.
Our brand new and you don't know what's going to be around the corner.
Yeah.
But a lot of different things happened to each and every soldier that went into the service.
Yeah.
(20:59):
Now you had an accident, correct?
As you're on these motorcycles, these Harley-Davidson's?
Yeah, I was allowed to join my lieutenant and sergeant behind the column we were going out on maneuvers.
And we hit gravel roads and we were alternating.
(21:21):
I finally had to go to the rear and once we hit the gravel, the dust was terrible.
And the two motorcycles in front of me had spread so much dust.
We came to a curve and I didn't catch that curve and I went down and hit one of these.
(21:42):
They were rock walls that the farmers built, took the rocks out of the field and built these walls.
I smashed right into that and both me and the motorcycles, some were sold at about 15 feet over the wall and of course I was out.
You knocked you out?
(22:03):
Yeah, yeah.
And then when I did wake up, there were three girls standing over me and white.
I didn't know what was going on.
Actually, there were college girls going to a dance at some university party and they happened to see me out there.
(22:27):
So I told them, I think I'm fine.
You thought you'd died and went to heaven?
I could wake up with three college girls all dressed in white.
They didn't have wings on her anything.
I've read none.
So from Fort Riley, then you went to officers' candidate school, is that correct?
We went back to Illinois for an opening and they went to offers' candidate school and graduated from there.
(22:56):
And then how did you get to California?
Well, actually what they did, they knew I had a car and they gave me the food stamps.
And that of course is another whole story, the amounts of censorship and the allocation of oils and leather.
(23:21):
But everything was rationed and the only way you could get anything was to get certain food stamps or gasoline stamps.
And they had a, every town had a board that authorized, figured out what your excuse was or what your need was.
(23:45):
And they gave you sufficient stuff to take care of your jobs, but not enough to do traveling or anything else.
Just bear necessities.
And then recycling came in very strong at that point too.
And we think our generation has a corner on the market when it comes to recycling today.
(24:06):
And yet you did it for good reasons to reuse, recycle because the very limited resource is available.
Yeah, so just amazing though.
And you think that what happened then was in thinking about it, if it would happen today would be terrible.
(24:30):
But you had the government was able to censor you, your mail, they could even drop, this is what they authorized.
They froze wages.
And they froze rents and things like this pretty much.
And it was, it was something that we were prepared for trying a war.
(24:59):
And this is the only country in the world that could possibly fight a war in over two different oceans and come out on top.
That's what America was.
I hope we can keep it that way and not go into some other kind of ism or other type of government because what we have should never be lost.
(25:25):
Yeah, but as we are going to today acknowledge and give a tribute to all those that made those sacrifices to make these freedoms what they are today.
But let's go back to your back at 19 years of age and you find yourself in California at Camp Cook, which is the same as Vanderberg Air Force Base, correct?
(25:48):
That is correct.
Okay, and so life was good for Wally back then. I mean, you were 19 years of age, you were going to officers training school and there's some perks that go along with being an officer.
You did a lot of dancing, did you not?
Oh, I don't know about that.
Yeah, I think so.
I got a great story that I want my listening audience to here, but first of all, I want to reeducate our listening audience to the sounds of the day of the music that was swing and the Andrew sisters.
(26:22):
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
(26:52):
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
(27:22):
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
(27:50):
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
(28:20):
[Music]
[Music]
(28:52):
Okay, so you have the amazing music back then and you did grab a gal at a dance.
Tell us the story, very special story. You're an officers training school. You're invited to go to a dance, pick it up from there.
Well, it wasn't an officer training school. I was actually in one of the units as the division, but anyway, we did have a chance to get a break.
(29:21):
By a buddy of mine said he would get me a date down in LA.
So we headed down that way and he said, "I've got you a date for you too, so don't worry about it."
(29:42):
Anyway, he wanted to see his girlfriend and we got together, the four of us got together and went out to the palladium which is a huge dance center.
That thing was a mammoth place and beautiful music.
The gal that I had for a date was a dead, was in the movie making business. He was a producer.
(30:15):
This gal got around a little bit. Anyway, we were dancing and she all of a sudden saw this guy that she either had dated or knew and wanted to dance with.
She at least had her eyes on him. She said, "Could you dance over there?"
I'd like to break in on that gentleman.
(30:42):
We did that and she tapped him on the shoulder. He broke away and left his girl there standing.
She turned around and I immediately looked at her and I almost got off the excited. It was a lot of turner.
(31:09):
To this day she was quite an experienced.
I guess dancing with Lana Turner.
It was kind of fun. She was very gracious. Everything worked out fine.
What a great story. It was.
This is the beginning of you meeting some very interesting people throughout your life and your time in the military as you were sent overseas.
(31:34):
Now it's 1944 and you've been assigned to the 11th armored Calvary. Is that correct?
Yeah. 1941st Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron is the correct terminology.
You were assigned there and then tell us a little bit about what that experience was like being assigned.
(31:59):
Then they decided they were going to ship you out of the United States and you got on a boat, correct?
Yeah, we got on a little bit bigger than a boat with a ship.
Yeah, anyway, bigger than a canoe.
We went from the west coast to the east coast and then got on a ship and went over to South Hampton, England.
(32:27):
From there we moved up our unit, moved up into a town called Chippenham, England.
We did a very little training there. It was just a matter of waiting game, I guess, until they needed us.
From there, of course, we were finally called up and went over to Normandy and landed in the Normandy area on December 16th, which turned out to be the same date that the German counteroffensive of the big battle of the bulge began.
(33:13):
Again, music plays a huge role in the war effort and I wanted to play a song, "The White Cliffs of Dover," because they're amazing.
I've seen them and I have not had a chance to go over there, but I've seen them in some of the movies.
Yeah, I have to.
(33:34):
They're fabulous.
They've been like to be these planes flying over their home country, liberating England.
There'll be blueprints of the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see.
(34:18):
There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after tomorrow when the world is free.
(34:40):
Beautiful music.
Oh, yeah.
I got tears in my eyes.
That was a song that you knew very well back then.
Oh, yeah, it's very much so.
So you're there in France, you're in Normandy, and where do you go from there?
Hitler's counterattack occurred on the same day as we started landing.
(35:07):
The whole division, our whole division, took several days to actually get off the boats and get reorganized.
We tore up through Paris.
We weren't supposed to go there originally, but we were immediately directed by General Eisenhower to get into the battle and they needed help, bad.
(35:35):
And this battle, it was a very famous battle.
Yes, one of the biggest, probably, I don't know if there were a lot of big battles, I guess, but it certainly was a dangerous time.
And it was called the Battle of the Bulge.
Yeah, exactly.
(35:57):
And you found yourself all of a sudden, right in the midst of it?
That is true.
That is true. We raised up to the Ardens and it was terrible weather, cold, and snowy.
So this was the month of December?
Yeah, this was the 16th of December.
And I think we got up there toward the round Christmas time.
(36:23):
Actually, I can remember definitely we were still in the Ardens before we'd actually met the enemy.
Yeah.
And the Battle of the Bulge was one of the most significant battles that the United States was involved in and became a turning point, but it was pretty iffy for there for a while.
That is for sure.
Yeah, the Germans made about a 40-mile sweep right into our units, not our units, but the units that were there, the divisions.
(36:56):
They had the 3rd and the 5th Panzer divisions, which were really well organized and well experienced in war because they had been in number of battles.
Now, then your job with your division was to do what?
(37:18):
Well, actually, my unit was taken out of the control of my division and sent to a given to a temporarily to another unit, another division.
And we were supposed to take care of the South Flake and guard that and also create a diversion with our assault guns.
(37:53):
So we set up to do that and that was a time that the commanding officer of that division asked us to move up further toward the front lines, which was not a good idea, but we had to do what he told us to do.
(38:16):
So we moved up and to the bottom of a big hill and we climbed the hill, streaking our wire up.
I mean, the troops set up, our units set up on the bottom of the hill and then we getting ready to fire.
(38:38):
And then we went up to be forward observer and set up an art command. And when we got up to the very top, it was the most amazing thing.
It had a rim around it about a hundred yards wide.
And it was a huge, dynamic crater. And the bottom of that crater was so big, here was a town sitting down, way down below us with the church and steeple in the center of it.
(39:18):
And nothing moving at all. There was nobody like it had been deserted. I don't know where everybody was staking their homes, I guess.
But we were set up to fire, but we didn't know exactly what to fire. We weren't afraid of the town.
(39:41):
So we were getting ready to go ahead and test our ammunition.
So I called for the first round to be smoked so that we could adjust the trajectory that we needed to hit any targets.
(40:04):
And before they even shot the first round, the forest area about a mile and a half across from us opened up at a battle of flames.
And all our Germans were hidden in that forest and all ready for whatever was to come. And they just shot into our position.
(40:34):
And obviously we were devastated at that point in time. And so actually what happened is we had to...
When I went back to look and see where they were, they had already taken off.
With the injured and carried them back to the back lines.
(41:01):
So I lost my sergeant at that point in time and a number of men. And it wasn't a pleasant time, but it sure taught us a lesson.
And we learned very well from that and for the future. The other battles we were in.
We always took great care of where we put our equipment and where we set up.
(41:28):
And there was a very famous general that I'm sure are listening on Inc. as well aware of, General Patton.
Well, yeah, General Patton operated. I mean he was probably one of the really great experts.
(41:51):
We used to care about the English being tiptoes. They go and fight a few hundred yards or a few miles a day.
Not General Patton. He'd get ready to go 30 or 40 miles in that same day.
(42:17):
We would probably lose a few more people that way, but overall about one tenth of what...
If you were doing it inch by inch, so to speak. So he was a great...
And the Germans were making great progress in running over the US troops in the battle of the bulge.
(42:41):
And so General Patton got involved in... He took that strategy that you just explained.
Exactly.
And it kind of turned at that point. The historians say that the reason why it turned was that they ran out of petrol.
The Germans did. And they were moving so fast that they couldn't get their supply lines up there in the front fast enough.
(43:07):
And then their tanks were so big that they bogged down in the snow and in the soft ground.
So that helped the ally offensive.
It did help some. That's for sure. In fact it probably helped a lot.
But that was a great time.
(43:31):
Did you ever get a chance to meet General Patton?
Yes, I did. Not meet him personally, no. But when we were at the SIG Freed Line, he came by and he was...
I guess maybe twenty, thirty feet from where I was. And here he stayed in there by his Jeep.
(43:57):
He had his two pistol, his two famous guns on each side. And he was talking to our commander.
It was interesting just to see him. And the very fact that he was there of course, kind of bolstered the troops.
So it was good.
(44:20):
And then from there you went into Austria. Is that correct?
Yeah, there was a couple of other battles that we had wanted to sew in places where we got...
(44:41):
The Germans were slowly retreating.
So the war was changing and the tide was changing?
Before we...any of this happened though, the Battle of the Bulge before we crossed over into Germany, we had to go from...
They called our unit and we had to go and close the bulge from the southern border to the northern border to meet up with the first army of...
(45:10):
which was commanded by an Englishman. I forget the name of the general right off hand, but Mark...
Anyway, that's...it probably...it'll probably come to me at some other toy time.
(45:31):
But anyway, after that of course we didn't run into a little resistance from the town to town, but not much.
As you say, and then we went to Austria.
And Austria was to be the national redout. That would...more of a place where they were to make their last stand.
(45:56):
But I guess Hitler decided to move up in Munich and...or not Munich, I mean Berlin.
Berlin? Yeah.
And then you saw some of the uglier side of war. All war is ugly and devastating and death, but there was some places that you went that shocked, probably even you.
(46:25):
Well, there's no words in the English language to cover the devastation and the cruelty of concentration camps.
There were some crazy people running...either running those camps or...there's...assistance were...as cruel as anything could be.
(46:54):
So it was...it was horrible experience to walk into that.
The...our unit...part of our cavalry unit was the first to go in there and their pictures showing our arrival there at Mounthausen, which was just south of the town of Lins.
(47:21):
And I say south, I'm sorry, it would be east of Litsch on the other side of...on the north side of the Danube.
And I didn't go in until the following day. And it was amazing to me to see...these people...his skeletons were...a few of them that couldn't...
(47:48):
thousands of them had already left, but there were ones that couldn't...couldn't leave.
Or just skeletons walking around. And they...they looked like death warmed over, but we watched some of them come up to you and...and they just dropped dead.
(48:12):
They were so excited and so emaciated. I mean, and the stench and so forth of the...crematoriums and...it was just a pretty horrible, horrible experience.
And nothing I've ever seen in this world or expect to see is...is bad as that was.
(48:41):
And we should never forget this country, the world should never forget so that we don't repeat history ever, ever again when it comes to the death concentration.
That is true. That is very true.
You know, you've experienced a lot in 97 years. You're 97, correct?
(49:02):
Okay, so you've experienced a lot. You have a lot of wisdom. You have a lot of wisdom and skill. And you've seen so much.
You've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, that what our human society brings.
What do you want to share with the next generation?
I think the most important thing that I want is that the people understand, the children understand the history of this country.
(49:33):
For our forefathers it created in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and how that all happened and how we fought the war.
Why they did it to escape the very thing that there are some people in this country now want us to vote for or to go to some different type of government,
(49:59):
whether it be socialism or communism or any other kind.
When you do that, you're going to end up with a dictatorship no matter what. Just like China has in pretty much the same thing as Russia.
My only wish is that we observe what we have here, the greatest country in the world.
(50:23):
And we always will be if laws that we understand our history.
Well said, Wally. Well said. And I appreciate the honor. I appreciate the courage and the duty that your generation brought to this great country.
(50:44):
And I hope that the younger generations will look back on history and remember the sacrifices that your generation has made.
And that we won't re-have to ever repeat this ever again and that we'll stand tall and we'll defend democracy.
We'll defend the rights of the we, the people, for the people and by the people.
(51:10):
And that's what I hope that your testimony today will bring.
And I want to leave our listening audience and I want to leave you a tribute, a song that means a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to you.
And this song is a very important song and it's a message for your generation out of gratitude.
(51:40):
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(52:01):
Keep smiling through just like you always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.
So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long.
(52:33):
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(53:05):
When we meet again, don't know where, don't know where, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
(53:27):
Keep smiling through just like you always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.
So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long.
(53:59):
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song.
(54:30):
Yes, I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
On behalf of Aging today and Comfort Care, Wally, thank you for the sacrifices that you and your generation has made for this great country.
(54:57):
My condolences to all the people that you have lost in your lifetime and what you've seen the ugly side of this world.
Thank you, Mark.
And it's been a pleasure to meet you and we'll see you again.
This is Mark Turnbull, your host, and I want to thank all of you for tuning in to Aging today.
And we are the podcast where together we're exploring the many options to Aging on your terms.
(55:24):
Join us every Monday when we release a new conversation on Aging today to your favorite podcast channel.
And remember, we're all in the process of Aging.
And as we age, we really are better together.
So stay young at heart.
You make me feel so young.
You make me feel like spring is coming.
(55:47):
And every time I see your face, I'm such a happy individual.
A moment that you speak.
I want to go play hide and see.
I want to go and bounce the moon just like a toy balloon.
Well, you and I, I'll just like a bullet tarts running across the metal.
(56:15):
They can have lots of forgetmint nights so you made me feel so young.
You made me feel there are songs to be sung.
There will be a run and a wonderful thing to be found.
And you know when I'm old and grey.
You've been listening to Aging today where together we explore the options to Aging on your terms.
(56:38):
Join Mark and his guest next week for another lively discussion on proactively Aging on your terms.
Connecting you to the professional advice of his special guests with the goal of creating better days throughout the aging process.
Your host has been Mark Turnbull.
Join Mark and his guest every week on Aging today, your podcast to exploring your options for Aging on your terms.
(57:03):
And you and I will be grey.
You make me feel the way I feel today.
You make me feel so young.
So young.
(57:24):
You make me feel so young.
You make me feel so young.
(upbeat music)
(music ends)
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