Professor Daniel K. Reitan, Lieutenant, 1st Airborne Army holds a photograph of himself as a young military officer during Word War II.
Today, in North Dakota, as in every one of our United States, we observed the honor, the sacrifices, the heroics of our nation’s veterans. For me, talking with three North Dakota veterans about their experiences during World War II was a welcome reminder that today is not about celebrating military service, but rather remembering that we should be listening to what those that have served have to say.
Three World War II veterans: Professor Daniel K. Reitan, Lieutenant, 1st Airborne Army, Vivian Montagne Garvey, 1st Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps, and her husband Jim Garvey, Tech Sergeant, US Army Air Corps, shared stories which were thrilling, heartbreaking, and humorous – ordinary people in extraordinary situations – the stuff of life. From stories of being ferried by the French Resistance to carrying cargo of champagne across the English Channel, there is among us, these quiet and reluctant voices which on this day, provide us the much needed perspective of where we’ve been so that we can make better decisions about where we are going.
Veterans Day is one of many annual wake-up calls we set for ourselves. The reality, however, is that tomorrow we’ll wake up and go to our jobs and wonder what to have for dinner or watch on TV. Many of us will put these people and this day in the back of our minds so that we can make room for American Idol and Facebook. These folks will go back to playing bridge and having coffee and maybe even watching American Idol but they will never forget the experience of war and how it changed their lives. They don’t ask to be honored, but when asked how we can best honor them, the answer was unanimous: find a way to find peace.
Jim Garvey, Tech Sergeant, US Army Air Corps
Vivian Montagne Garvey, 1st Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps
Did you know…?
The All Veterans Memorial was built in 1989 on the North Dakota Capitol grounds and honors by name the North Dakotans who died while serving in the United States military. Their names are listed on upright panels encircling a bronze globe in the center of the memorial that features North Dakota with an elevated image of the state.
Bismarck engineer and military veteran Alan Erickson designed the memorial so that upon the 11th hour of 11th day of the 11th month (Veterans Day), the sun shines through a hole in in the wall and illuminates North Dakota on the globe inside the memorial. Veterans Day is not a day off in North Dakota. Instead, it’s the day designated for people to honor veterans by telling them about an appreciation that lasts throughout the year.
All Veterans Memorial. Photo courtesy of Jim Puppe
Posted by: Kevin Tobosa is a North Dakota-based photographer and the driving force behind the vision of North Dakota Realized. You can follow him online via: Twitter and his blog.
My own father was reluctant to talk about his experiences as a Marine in the south Pacific during WWII. I remember times when he would be laid up with “the chills”…a lingering manifestation of the malaria he had contracted on one of those tropical islands. The memories that must have been brought to bear during those episodes were never shared with us.
It was after my own service in the military and after I had served as Commander in my local American Legion Post that I was allowed to hear some of the stories that both Mom & Dad told about their WW11 experiences. They were just as harrowing as some of the ones I have chronicled from a Coast Watcher in the Philipines, a Navy enlisted on the California at Pearl and a starboard side gunnery officer from a WW11 Navy Ship. Jim & Vivian Garvey are my parents and I’m proud of them.
Kevin – our hearts go out to you and your family on news of your father’s passing. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to speak with him and your mother. Both were bright, interesting people who sacrificed much for the security of our country and our way of life.