Butch Recalls the Christmas Wish 81 Years Ago

   Families are preparing for another Christmas this week . . . to be with their families and friends, watch the kids open their presents, attend church services and honor the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. Despite all of the problems in our country, the holiday season is a joyful occasion for the majority of people in my little town. However, 81 years ago . . . in 1944, the families worried about their loved ones . . . the local men and women who were fighting overseas during WWII in Europe and in the Pacific. Several had already been injured and killed.

   In Belgium, on Dec. 16, 1944, the Germans made a surprise attack with over 400,000 men, stopped the Allied advance and pushed the front line back. The following letter, written by S/Sgt. Donald Lough, appeared in the Darlington Herald newspaper:

   “It has been snowing here and has been cold for some time. It is hard on the boys here on the front. Yes, I am still ducking a few shells, and I have done a very good job so far . . . We have been over here ten months and in combat seven months or more, and have had three days rest. What a life! The people in the states are lucky in many ways. They do not know what the people go through with over here. We are back in Germany after the battle in Belgium. If I ever saw a battlefield, I sure saw it there. We call it the Battle of the Bulge. That made five major battles for us, and I only hope that I never see another one; however, we are headed that way. I guess I have been a very lucky Yank, as I am the only S/Sgt. left in our company that left the good old U.S. I expect to come back, however you can never tell, as old jerry plays rough. I have not much more to say, only I hope we get to Berlin by the time you get this letter.”

   During that battle, another Darlington boy, Bob Anderson, was taken prisoner by the Germans. The Allied troops, numbering over 700,000, eventually gained victory on Jan. 25, 1945, but suffered 83,000 casualties and 8,600 killed. The men fighting in the Pacific theater were also meeting fierce resistance from the Japanese. Don Weliever, Norman Hiatt and Eugene Hampton were all severely injured. Bob Anderson, along with Everett Tribbett, who was also captured when his plane was shot down, luckily were liberated from captivity in the spring of 1945. Don Lough made it home, as did most of the local soldiers and sailors. Other men were not so lucky, as a total of 14 men from our community were killed during the war.

   Yes, in 1944 the people here were getting ready for another Christmas, but their expectations for a joyful season were tempered by the thoughts of their loved ones in battle who were fighting for their lives. And sad to say, the majority of Americans today, and especially our young people, have no idea what it was like 81 years ago. The first item on the Christmas wish list for everyone in 1944 was the safe return of fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and all of the other brave men and women overseas. God Bless those heroes who fought in all of the wars…and often made the supreme sacrifice, and the men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces. Take time to think of them this Christmas season.

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.