Butch Recalls School During the War Years . . .

  From the early 1900s to the 1970s, our country was involved in four military conflicts . . . World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. All of the schools in Montgomery County were certainly aware of the actions that were taking place overseas. Many high school boys dropped out of school to join the armed forces, and many more were drafted or enlisted after graduation. A majority were involved in heavy combat. Several sustained severe wounds. And sadly, many of these young men made the ultimate sacrifice.

   Those still in school were deeply affected. Girls were separated from their sweethearts, and many wrote letters every day, praying that they would reach the ones they loved. Gas rationing curtailed students from attending away ballgames. Class activities often involved organized drives that helped the war effort. And every student diligently checked the paper for the latest news concerning local boys and girls in the service.

  Several years ago I interviewed former students who attended Darlington High School during war times…

  “It was a very sad time when several of our classmates joined the army during WW I. Their desks in the assembly room were covered with the flag, and it saddened us all.” (Thelma Cook Warren, Class of 1918)

   “At dismissal time, we all marched out while the Victrola in the lower hall played Sousa’s ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ song.” (Ramona Rhoads Ainsworth, Class of 1921)

   “On December 8, 1941, we learned a new word . . . ‘Infamy’.” (Jean Warren Gunn, Class of 1943)

   “We all gathered in the assembly, with a radio setting on the desk, and listened to President Roosevelt ask Congress for a declaration of war against Japan for their attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a very sobering experience for us seniors, because we knew our future employment would be with Uncle Sam’s armed forces.” (Hal Royer, Class of 1942)

   “In the war years, so many boys were leaving school to join the military, rather than be drafted. Don Charters was one of those boys, and he happened to be on leave during our school’s annual musical program. He came on stage in his Navy uniform and sang ‘White Christmas.’ There was not a dry eye on stage and doubt there were many in the audience.” (Betty Binford Anderson, Class of 1946)

   “I remember when we learned that Bob Anderson of Bowers High School was reported missing in action during the Battle of the Bulge. Yes, there was a war on, and it struck all of us in school.” (Bob Stwalley, Class of 1948)

  “One of the worst moments during my senior year was when we received the news that one of our former students, Ted Alexander of the Class of ’68, had been killed in the Vietnam War.” (Debbie Wilson DeFreitas, Class of 1969)

   The first soldier from Montgomery County to be killed in WW I was Byron Cox, a 1916 Darlington graduate. The Crawfordsville American Legion Post is named in his honor. Every school in the county had former students who lost their lives serving our country. From 1917 to 1971, my community alone lost two in WW I, 14 during WW II, one in the Korean War, and five during the Vietnam War. I personally knew four of the five who lost their lives during Vietnam . . . Harold Abbott, Ted Alexander, Rick Renstchler and Dave Mullen. The fifth one who died was Gene Tribbett, who had graduated in 1955. I sometimes wonder what those five men would have become later in life if fate had not intervened.  

    I’m not sure that our current younger generation knows or appreciates the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served our country, in war and during peaceful times. I believe such a topic should be included in each school’s social studies curriculum, and each school year, on Veteran’s Day, we should tell the students about those who gave their lives for our freedoms. May God bless them all . . .

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.