Dem
47
GOP
53
Today, because it's a very long post overall, we have a fairly short reminiscence from J.S. in Dayton, NJ:
My grandfather, Olas Smith, enlisted in the Army in 1942. On February 3, 1943, he was en route to Greenland on the SS Dorchester, a transport ship, when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The ship quickly sank. Of the 904 people on board, only 229 survived. Fortunately, my grandfather was one of them. It was his 21st birthday. He got a pretty bad case of frostbite from the icy water and was awarded a Purple Heart. The Dorchester sinking is famous because of the Four Chaplains, who each gave away their life jackets to save others. These men were later honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a commemorative stamp. My grandfather carried this stamp in his wallet for decades, until he gave it to me when I was about 13. I didn't ask him too much about the incident, because he would weep when he talked about it.
After recovering from the Dorchester disaster he was sent to France, where he learned how to curse in French. More importantly, he was thrown from a Jeep when it drove over a landmine, severely injuring his leg. He was awarded a second Purple Heart.
After leaving the military he got married, went to barber school, and eventually settled in Lewes, DE, where he opened a barber shop. Some years later he became a Delaware State Trooper and served for 20 years, retiring as a sergeant in the mid 70's. He passed away in 1989 after Alzheimer's disease stole the spark from his eyes and turned a proud military hero into just a memory, while he was still breathing.
Thanks to a previous "Never Forget," I became aware of the National Personnel Records Center, which makes military records available to the public. Sadly, I've learned that the vast majority of military records of those discharged between 1912 and 1960 were destroyed in a fire in 1973. This explains why I can't find his name in any item about the Dorchester sinking. To make it even more frustrating, no one in the family knows where his Purple Hearts are. I remember seeing them when I was a boy but that's all I've got... memories.
Thanks, J.S. (Z)