A chance meeting happened recently between me and an old Duke alumnus that was pretty interesting. I would like to tell you about it.
A friend and I went to see Sen. Richard Lugar speak at the Sanford Institute recently. Not only was there a sizable student body presence, but also a considerable number of adults who came to see the distinguished Senator speak. We took our seats, and soon two elderly men approached us to look for their own place to sit. "Mind if two old-timers like us sit next to you guys?" one asked with a warm, grandfatherly smile. We said no and the two men took their seats.
The four of us proceeded to make small talk when the subject turned to Duke. Turns out the first guy we were talking to was an alumnus.
"Class of '44," the man boasted proudly. "Still get damn fundraising calls all the time. I just got six phone calls last week for the 60th Reunion. I told 'em I couldn't help 'em, I'm not like Nicholas who has 70 million dollars to blow. What year are you guys?"
"Sophomores," I replied.
The man leaned in and grabbed my shoulder and motioned for us to listen close. I saw an intensity in his eyes that signaled he wanted us to listen to what he had to say. "December 7, 1941. I was a sophomore. I had just walked outside after getting initiated into Sigma Chi. Someone came up to me and said the Japs had bombed Pearl Harbor. I didn't even know where Pearl Harbor was."
I was hooked instantly to the person's story, especially with the Duke connection.I immediately assumed the two men were veterans, which they were. The gentleman had dropped out of Duke after his sophomore year and enlisted. He flew B-29s in the Pacific Theater for two and a half years. Later he was discharged and finished up his degree. This guy did this at my age. As a World War II buff, I quickly entered a discussion about the war with him. We discussed whether it was right for Truman to drop the bomb. He felt it was justified and offered some glowing words of praise for Harry Truman.
It sort of blew me away this man had heard Roosevelt and Truman, men I had only read about, address the nation. I told him about fellow World War II veterans I had had the honor of meeting over the years, including a member of the Indianapolis. The man motioned over to his friend who had so far been pretty silent and said, "He was on the Indianapolis." (Any history buff or Jaws aficionado knows the Indianapolis was a ship that was sunk in the Pacific where the sailors who survived were left in the water. For the next several days, they were surrounded by Great White sharks before they were finally rescued).
I had a history teacher who always told his class whenever you meet a veteran that the one thing you should do is thank him for serving for his country. At the end of the Senator's speech, my friend and I got up to go back to the dorm. I remembered to shake the man's hand and thanked him for the years of his youth he gave up to serve his country. When my friend and I went outside I asked him if he could imagine himself at age 20 dropping out of Duke and going half way across the world to fight a war. Neither of us could.
Over my life I had met men who lied about their age to serve in Europe and men who put aside their Biology and Economics degrees for a few years to risk their lives, fully aware they might never return to receive their diplomas.
It will not be long before these World War II veterans--the men who experienced Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Midway--will no longer be around to tell their tales. And while our main concerns in life currently deal with grades and major declarations and what fraternity or sorority party is going on, perhaps we should all consider what it would be like to push that all to the side and worry about having to be in a trench fighting for our country. I think after that day I have a new appreciation for those who gave the years of their youth to their country while I myself am current experiencing those years. And for that very reason the veterans of days long ago should be all the more cherished.
Jonathan Pattillo is a Trinity sophomore. His column appears every other Friday
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