My Pop

This is a picture of my father's unit when he was a soldier in World War II. He was part of the 1st Armored Division (Old Ironsides) which, after crossing the ocean on the Queen Mary, trained in Northern Ireland. Before receiving orders for deployment, the unit posed for this photo that now hangs in my mother's foyer. I have always found it captivating--young men looking clean and fed and dry, and safe. They wouldn't look like this again for a few years.

Old Ironsides was deployed in North Africa and were some of the first American soldiers to see actual combat. They also fought in Italy and France, and they were a pivotal part of the battle at Anzio. My father didn't talk about the war very often except to swear about Paton and wish he had been assassinated by the soldiers who hated him. He liked to tell the story of driving a tank across the desert with German aircraft overhead, and his tank jumped its track. According to the story, Paton abandoned my father and his tank buddy and drove off to safety. With bullets flying, the two men were able to get their tank back on track and in working order, but they never forgave their commander for leaving them for dead.

Here is a photo of my father on KP duty, an assignment he received quite a bit. I have posted this photo before, but I think it's worthy of being seen again.