|
Acknowledgement I
acknowledge and fondly remember my grandfathers, Maurice Elmer
Drake and Archibald Vance Houston, who provided me with the
inspiration and foundation necessary to share their story.
I would like to humbly express my appreciation to the men
of the 558th AAA AW BN and U.S.S. Culebra Island ARG7 for
telling their stories. I thank and stand in awe of the countless
World War II veterans I have interviewed over the years. Lastly,
thank you to the millions of World War II veterans who served
our country during 1939-1945. Our current freedom was paid
for in blood – it is the responsibility of my generation
and those that follow to never forget the high cost of freedom
and to protect it at all costs.
|
See
a sneak peak of Inherited Freedom below |
 |
| Introductory
Note
“History will be kind to me for
I intend to write it.”
- Sir Winston Churchill
My reason for writing this book is multifaceted.
First, it is a contemplative look back into a distinctive
time in America’s history through the lives of my two
grandfathers, Maurice Elmer Drake and Archibald Vance Houston;
and an examination of their service to our great country during
World War II. My life intersected these two men as a result
of my parent’s choice to lovingly adopt me as their
son at the time of my birth. Second, it is a critical look
into our present situation as a nation, as compared and contrasted
with our past, which I undertook with a burning desire due
to the personal impact of my grandfathers’ service.
Lastly, this book is a consideration of the future of this
great country as it lies in the hands of my generation and
outlines our responsibilities: to protect it and to provide
our descendants with the inherited freedom that was earned
in blood by the Greatest Generation over sixty years ago.
I interacted with Maurice and Archie for a precious few years
that were cut short by their passing; every minute that I
spent in their company was considered a privilege. I have
spent a large portion of my adult life extensively researching
their World War II experiences. This, coupled with my scores
of interviews and compilation of stories of World War II veterans,
compels me to put pen to paper. My goal is not to be political
or combative, but to share the research, thoughts, concerns
and opinions of a forty year-old American male, a citizen
who has never had to fight for his freedom but who clearly
understands what he inherited and what is at stake for his
children and this great nation. What a privilege to grow up
in freedom, but what a huge responsibility to leave to future
generations.
My interest in World War II history started at a very young
age. Learning that both of my grandfathers had fought in World
War II led me to interrogate my parents and in turn ask my
grandfathers countless questions. During my middle school
years, my interest in comic books like “Sgt. Rock”
and “Sgt. Fury” furthered my interest. Throughout
my teenage years and adulthood, I acquired practically every
World War II book I have come across. World War II movies,
documentaries, biographies and anniversary specials were also
recorded and archived, often at the expense of my parents’
VCR tapes.
By the time I had been married for several years and my wife
and I had begun to have children, both my grandfathers had
passed away. Their military funerals and memorials are burned
in my memory. Their American flags were handed down to me
and are preserved in shadow boxes in my home office. It has
been important for me to fill in as many gaps in their military
careers as possible, obtaining missing medals, patches and
uniforms. This not only satisfied my desire to learn more
about them, but to, in turn, pass that rich history down to
my teenage son.
Continued research has allowed me to attend Word War II reunions
and given me privilege of interviewing countless World War
II Veterans, many of whom served side by side with each of
my grandfathers and other family members. The hundreds of
interviews and conversations I have had with these veterans
have helped to provide me with the inspiration to write this
book. These men served our great country with courage, a sense
of duty, a will to protect, and a determination to win.
What drove that generation to rise up and head off to war?
Has that driving force been lost over the last sixty years?
Does my generation care to understand, appreciate their privileges,
and accept the responsibility of that freedom, which was purchased
at such great cost? Does my children’s generation even
know what took place during 1939-1945? Are America’s
diverse citizens aware of what it took to obtain the inherited
freedom and privileges we experience today? Is America alert
to how easily that freedom can be taken away? By writing this
book, I hope to share the personal history, insights and concerns
of an adopted third generation grandson with an overwhelmingly
silent majority. What attributes did the Greatest Generation
have that allowed them to sign up by the millions and head
off to war? What drove them to return, raise families, and
work for decades to help rebuild this great nation and help
it recover from what previously was possible total annihilation?
Today we are faced with new enemies. These enemies do not
wear uniforms, drive tanks or even represent a country; rather,
they sneak into our neighborhoods, cause disruption, and are
determined to erase every existence of our heritage and rights
as a nation. I will look back into what saved us once as a
nation and what is required of the generations born since
the end of World War II. If we expect to survive and reach
America’s two hundred and fifty year anniversary, we
had better wake up and reverse our current course. Thank you
in advance for taking this journey with me.
|
|
Inherited Freedom – Chapter
Sneak Peaks
America Goes to War
Chapter 1 Prelude to War
What our country has not had to do for over two hundred years
is fight a foreign enemy on its shores. America has come to
the aid of other nations when the need arose, and today finds
itself fighting a new enemy that attacked us on September 11,
2001. Our country is also being invaded by a wave of illegal
aliens and a surge of anti-American sentiment. These two elements
wish to destroy the United States, its rich history, freedom
and overall way of life, sparing nothing as it beats a path
to our doorsteps. Controversy exists as to America’s role
in the fight against terrorism and its attempts to curb the
flow of illegal aliens; many consider America a big bully looking
to intimidate and threaten weaker nations. What is not acknowledged
is that America has had an open door for over two hundred years.
This open door has allowed others to enter and enjoy the fruits
of our land, the privileges of our tax-paying citizens, and
the inherited freedom provided by those who have died on our
behalf.
Chapter 2 Preparation for War
As training took on a hurried pace, World War II had raged for
four years, even though America had only been involved since
December 1941. During April 1943, the German Army was forced
to surrender to the Soviet Army at Stalingrad, Russia. The United
States had beaten back a large garrison of Japanese forces on
a small island in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. Over ten thousand
Japanese soldiers were killed by American forces and the United
States won back control of the island. This operation proved
vital for training on upcoming Pacific island-hopping campaigns
by the Army, Navy and Marines as they fought to take back control
of the Pacific from the Japanese. As a direct result of that
victory at Guadalcanal, an American P-38 plane launched from
the island, shot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto on Sunday, April
18, 1943 near the island of Bougainville in the Pacific theater
of war. Yamamoto was the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor
attack on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and his death dampened the
morale of all Japanese soldiers across the Pacific Theater of
war.
Chapter
3 Heroes Abroad
World War II was fought on two fronts. The United States and
its Allies decided to free Europe from the grip of Nazi Germany
prior to using all of their resources against Japan. Maurice
Elmer Drake, my other grandfather who defended America and its
freedom, was an original member of the commissioning crew of
the U.S.S. Culebra Island back on Friday, May 19, 1944. By late
June of that year the U.S.S. Culebra Island and its crew were
well acquainted. The shakedown cruise in the Chesapeake Bay
gave the crew six weeks in which they familiarized themselves
with the ship and their respective stations. When Maurice departed
from Portsmouth, Virginia on Friday, June 30, 1944, he was told
that they were headed for the South Pacific to fight the Japanese.
I can only begin to imagine what Maurice felt when he watched
the shore of Virginia slip from view. He had left a wife and
young son behind in order to fight an enemy he had never seen.
All he knew was that the Japanese had attacked his fellow sailors
two and a half years earlier at Pearl Harbor and that there
was still plenty of fight left in them.
Interlude
Chapter 4 The Drift
After 1973, I never lived near Maurice and Archie again. The
consequence of the long distance between us was that we only
got to visit with them over occasional holidays and summers.
The time I did spend with them was very special; mostly because
of the long list of World War II related questions I had prepared
in advance of my visit for them to answer. I always remember
them as “old,” but in 1966, Archie was only fifty-eight
and Maurice was fifty-one. I would have the next seventeen years
to spend with Maurice and the next thirty-one years to spend
with Archie, mostly interrupted by time and miles. We never
really wrote each other except in the form of birthday and Christmas
cards. E-mail was not prevalent yet and neither one of them
liked to talk on the phone very much. I found out when I was
around seven years old that both Maurice and Archie had fought
in a war. My comprehension at that age was limited, but even
then I remember thinking how interesting that was. That small
piece of information immediately started the wheels turning
for me – a life-long obsession. An obsession to not only
find out as much as I could about Maurice and Archie’s
service during World War II, but to investigate everything I
could about their entire generation!
Chapter 5 At the Knees of Heroes
My interviews and overall interest in World War II only increased
over the next years. The resulting research and some of my personal
accounts will be brought out in later chapters. Having the opportunity
to build upon an interest that was forged at an early age has
been both rewarding and eye-opening. Rewarding because it has
broadened my scope of knowledge and allowed me to meet and interact
with so many World War II heroes. Eye-opening in that my interest
in World War II has provided me with an opportunity to now write
this book; it allowed me to see the current world stage and
its impact on my generation and its effect on my children’s
generation for years to come.
Chapter 6 Remembrances
Maurice was laid to rest only a few short miles from where he
was born and raised. He was buried next to his father, Howell
Drake, and his grandfather, Humphrey Drake. I remember that
the morning air was very cold but that the noon hour brought
plenty of warm sunshine. Maurice’s final resting place
lay under a large maple tree at the end of a row, near an iron
fence. A full military honor guard was present that day. As
Maurice’s casket was about to be lowered into his grave,
off in the distance rang out a twenty-one gun salute. I remember
that I jumped when the first shot rang out unexpectedly. Each
of the seven local American Legion men who volunteered that
day fired three shots in unison. I watched the puffs of smoke
drift away from where the veterans stood toward the back of
the cemetery. When the twenty-one gun salute ended, Reverend
Paul Shippert offered a prayer and some final comments. Just
before Maurice was lowered, Taps was played off in the distance.
The playing of Taps began back in 1864 as a way to remember
soldiers and sailors who had passed away during the Civil War.
As Taps played, my eyes swelled with tears, but an overwhelming
sense of pride overcame me because I knew my grandfather Maurice
was now in heaven with a new body, looking down on us. I was
only seventeen years old, but I was thankful to have had Maurice
as my grandfather for seventeen years. His American flag was
folded neatly and presented to Lucille, who in turn handed it
down to me.
Call
to Action
Chapter 7 The Privileged Generation
Liberty, family and security are unique privileges that have
been handed down to us from previous generations. We must
never forget what we have been given. If we lose sight of
those privileges, all is lost. In the words of Joseph Story,
a lawyer and pre-Civil War Supreme Court Justice, "Let
the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble
inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood
of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and
faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity
all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment
of liberty, property, religion, and independence". This
famous quote, even though first spoken in the early 1800s,
still resonates today and should echo loud and clear in the
ears of the privileged generations alive today. Do we hear
it?
Chapter 8 The Bell Tolls
The challenge we face today is that there are ever-increasing
threats against America and its citizens. The threat used
to come from armies who wore uniforms, drove tanks, and flew
airplanes labeled with their country’s insignia on it.
There were traditionally determined battlefields and warfare
was fought out in the open. Today, the threat to our very
existence comes from a new enemy. An enemy determined to kill
Americans and undermine the United States economy and educational
system. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,
there has been a lot of material written and heated verbal
debate conducted, about who our enemy really is. The bottom
line is that we, as a nation, are under attack. As we go about
our daily lives working, attending school, church, sporting
events, and so on, our enemies are quietly slipping into our
neighborhoods, bent on destroying us. My generation has been
quiet too long. The American, who goes about his business
every day, pays his taxes, votes, and works to raise and protect
his family has been silent to this point. The time has now
come for us to stand up and be heard. Our voice can be heard
and it can come in many forms of action. Actions like voting,
calling our local and national politicians, supporting our
troops, speaking up when confronted by evil, and standing
up for what is morally and ethically right.
Reflection
Chapter 9 Following in the Footsteps of Heroes
I realize that I have been given a unique opportunity in meeting
and interacting with so many veterans of the 558th AAA Aw
Bn. Our conversations and shared meals that began in 2004
and continue to this day, have been very rewarding. Interacting
with men who fought side by side with Archie provided me with
volumes of material. Their ranks are thinning, but the veterans
I have met over the years are thankful that someone has taken
an interest in them. They also know now that their story will
be shared with future generations. During the 2007 reunion
I got to share with the veterans of the 558th that I was writing
a book, and that I was partially dedicating it to them. I
also shared with them a large packet of thank-you notes that
I have received over the years from school children who I
have educated during special classroom visits about World
War II and the Greatest Generation. The thank-you notes I
presented at the 2007 558th reunion were full of appreciation.
I felt it was important to share with the men the fact that
they are still remembered. When the men read the letters during
the 2007 reunion, many of them cried and thanked me for telling
their story to later generations. Collectively the men have
charged me to never forget what their generation did during
World War II and to tell their story to as many people as
I can.
Chapter 10 A Grandson’s Reflection
Today’s fork in the road is a very crucial one. We as
individual citizens of the United Sates have to make some
serious choices. Maurice, Archie, and sixteen million other
men and women chose to draw a line in the sand, fight and
secure our freedom during World War II. Today brave men and
women are on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, ensuring
that our freedom remains intact. Our current conflicts are
not only global; they are creeping into our backyards, schools,
and communities. Our vigilance must begin immediately and
we must not be afraid to stand resolute and determined. Are
we as a nation more concerned today about getting out of Iraq
and Afghanistan, the farce of “Global Warming”,
and what is going to be on television at eight o’clock?
Our brave military is spread across this globe in an effort
to secure our peace, liberty and freedom. We are charged with
supporting them, our President, and the processes currently
in place to wage a successful campaign against terrorism.
Is our government functioning ideally? Has everything in the
War on Terror gone smoothly? Are we excited about the rise
in medical coverage and gas prices? The resounding answer
to all of these questions is “no.” In spite of
our current circumstances, our reaction to them should be.... |
|
|
|