UnderMiner
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- Jul 27, 2014
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Robert O'neill came into my store today. Very old man accompanied by his daughter. WWII Veterans cap on his head. Extended my hand and thanked him for his service to our country. He was almost completely deaf but understood me and his daughter explained that he has been deaf ever since the war. Now he is 92 years old and still very healthy and living an active life.
So I asked him what battles he fought in. "Normandy." he said. I never met anyone who fought at Normandy so I asked him what unit he was with. He answered, "101st." I couldn't believe my ears, "THE 101st? The 101st Airborne?" I asked with amazement and disbelief. The man nodded his head and his daughter confirmed, "yes, they dropped him in the woods during the invasion on the first day." "They overshot our drop zone," the old man said loudly. I could not believe I was in the presence of a member of the 101st Airborne, never thought in a million years a living legend like this would appear in my store.
Long story short the man ended up telling me some of his story. "What was it like on the first day?" I asked. He responded, "It was Normandy, chute on my back and another bag in front. Pieces of flack ripped through the plane but didn't get me, got others but not me. We overshot our drop and I landed in the woods very far from the beach." Were you in a glider or a plane? "Normandy I was in a plane. They had me in a glider later in the war." (He told me specific names of places in Europe where he was dropped but I can't remember the names, one was a forest somewhere and another a small town). "How many times did they send you up during the war?" "Four times. Three planes, one glider." How was the glider? "The glider was the worst." Was there flack? "Everywhere. It ripped holes in the floor, the walls,...." His daughter then explained that it was shortly after his drop from the glider that a German attack caused him to lose his hearing. I told her that I had a friend who's grandfather was in Iwo Jima who lost a kidney to a grenade attack. The daughter then told me that the explosion that hit Robert not only made him permanently deaf but also took large pieces of flesh from his right leg and side which left him with permanent scars that he still has.
I told the man that I wish more people knew of the sacrifices endured by him and the men who served in the 101st, how nowadays hardly anyone knows of what they did so long ago. I told him that our nation owes him a debt that can never be fully repaid, the sacrifices of those men were just too great to ever compensate with any amount of worldly goods or services. The daughter explained how as a people we never learn the horrors of war and how even now the mistakes of the past are just repeating over and over.
I wish I was able to talk to this man and his daughter all day but they had a train to catch. I didn't even get to ask him if he was able to bring back any treasures from Germany. But here's the cool part, the items he bought from my store he paid for with a credit card - so he had to sign my copy of the receipt. I told the daughter that this was the best transaction I'd ever processed as I will now forever have the signature of a member of the 101st Airborne.
And here it is...
So I asked him what battles he fought in. "Normandy." he said. I never met anyone who fought at Normandy so I asked him what unit he was with. He answered, "101st." I couldn't believe my ears, "THE 101st? The 101st Airborne?" I asked with amazement and disbelief. The man nodded his head and his daughter confirmed, "yes, they dropped him in the woods during the invasion on the first day." "They overshot our drop zone," the old man said loudly. I could not believe I was in the presence of a member of the 101st Airborne, never thought in a million years a living legend like this would appear in my store.
Long story short the man ended up telling me some of his story. "What was it like on the first day?" I asked. He responded, "It was Normandy, chute on my back and another bag in front. Pieces of flack ripped through the plane but didn't get me, got others but not me. We overshot our drop and I landed in the woods very far from the beach." Were you in a glider or a plane? "Normandy I was in a plane. They had me in a glider later in the war." (He told me specific names of places in Europe where he was dropped but I can't remember the names, one was a forest somewhere and another a small town). "How many times did they send you up during the war?" "Four times. Three planes, one glider." How was the glider? "The glider was the worst." Was there flack? "Everywhere. It ripped holes in the floor, the walls,...." His daughter then explained that it was shortly after his drop from the glider that a German attack caused him to lose his hearing. I told her that I had a friend who's grandfather was in Iwo Jima who lost a kidney to a grenade attack. The daughter then told me that the explosion that hit Robert not only made him permanently deaf but also took large pieces of flesh from his right leg and side which left him with permanent scars that he still has.
I told the man that I wish more people knew of the sacrifices endured by him and the men who served in the 101st, how nowadays hardly anyone knows of what they did so long ago. I told him that our nation owes him a debt that can never be fully repaid, the sacrifices of those men were just too great to ever compensate with any amount of worldly goods or services. The daughter explained how as a people we never learn the horrors of war and how even now the mistakes of the past are just repeating over and over.
I wish I was able to talk to this man and his daughter all day but they had a train to catch. I didn't even get to ask him if he was able to bring back any treasures from Germany. But here's the cool part, the items he bought from my store he paid for with a credit card - so he had to sign my copy of the receipt. I told the daughter that this was the best transaction I'd ever processed as I will now forever have the signature of a member of the 101st Airborne.
And here it is...
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