Heroes Among Us

The year was 1942.

He was 20 years old. A time for fun. A time to date girls. A time for preparing to venture out into the world and make your mark.

Instead of doing any of those things my father-in-law, Wallace I. Williams enlisted in the Air Force to defend our country in World War II. He left his unborn son behind to fight for our country, and while overseas his son was born.

He wanted to be a pilot, but his asthma prevented him from that. So, Wally became a staff sergeant performing radar counter measures, serving three years plus. He sat behind the pilot in the airplane with one receiver and three transmitters picking up the radar of German antiaircraft guns and would jam their radar so their American plane could go undetected. They could then do their mission of bombing German territory without being found. Flying at 18,000 feet, often their target was ball-bearing factories to prevent the production of tanks, airplanes, cars, and mechanical equipment.

He remembers one mission where they bombed a dynamite factory where the plane literally bounced from the explosion.

When he returned home…she had found another to replace him; a high price to pay for service to our country. And the child? Well, in order to give him the best life possible he surrendered him to the boy’s mom.

On April 13, 2022, my father-in-law graduated to his eternal home. He was 99 years old. Wally raised two amazing sons who continued on his legacy of love, bravery, and courage living their lives as men of faith and integrity, serving God faithfully.

My father-in-law defended our country and arrived home safely with no injuries. This was not the case for many. According to The National WWII Museum there were 407,316 casualties from WWII. According to Wikipedia, “World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70-85 million people perished, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population (est. 2.3 billion).

World War II bomber pilot, Albert S. Zuidmema who passed in 2017, at the age of 98, survived the shooting down of his aircraft and was captured by the German soldiers in 1944. It was his 38^th mission. While in a German hospital his leg was amputated above the knee without anesthesia, and then Albert was sent to a prisoner of war camp. He remained there until Germany surrendered in May of 1945. Back in the U.S. he received a prosthetic leg and fully lived his life—married for 55 years, 4 children, and 8 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. In his retirement he enjoyed playing golf and could hike a full 18 holes where many of his competitors didn’t even know he had a prosthetic left leg.

And then, there were those who never made it back, like, Anthony J. Marchione. According to Air & Space Magazine sergeant Marchione bled to death in the arms of a buddy in the sky above Tokyo in 1945. A month before his 20^th birthday, Anthony was the oldest child of Italian immigrants, five foot six, 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, he was the last American killed in air combat in World War II.

Freedom is free for most of us, thanks to the men and women who willingly sacrificed for the greater good of our nation, and for many they don’t even know.

Are there really any words that can convey our thankfulness to these heroes? We can start with a thank you. Thank you, Dad! And thank you to the many who have sacrificed for all of us.

You ARE heroes! Thank you, THANK YOU for your service!

For more from Lucille Williams check out her books The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace, and for your marriage, From Me to We, and The Intimacy You Crave. We invite you to subscribe to LuSays today for weekly encouragement.