Honor Our Veterans. Kathy Smith Schwartz, the daughter of a major in Pattons 3rd Army and a military governor, talks about her Dad, Major Donald L. Smith, who passed away in 2003.... When we fussed that our food was touching on our dinner plates, our dad would say, I ate everything in my helmet with a peach on top! Other than the humorous stories we never heard the depth of what he and his men went through. (Like when the snow melted in the Ardennes, the dead German soldiers he saw were women.) Tina and I were honored to spend time with a German historian in Ebern, Germany two years ago. Mr. Lipp shared how grateful they were to our father as their military governor at the end of WWII. Donald L. Smith fought in the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive), then stayed to govern 69 towns and villages in Germany. His picture is in their museum honoring him. His men from the 87th Golden Acorn Division went home but Dad stayed as Military Governor as the war ended. He showed compassion and restarted their government, schools (burning Nazi propaganda textbooks, firing Nazi teachers and hiring locals as teachers), and kept the threat of a Russian communist invasion out of the east side of Germany. The Germans were grateful that he gave healthcare to returning soldiers. His first cousin fought in the German army and was killed in Russia, in 1941, a year before Dad arrived as an American officer. General Patton raised his rank personally to Major after the Battle of the Bulge. We were shown the roads Dad brought his troops down. General Patton ordered him to bomb everything on his way down that east side of Germany but Dad (a recent college grad from U. of Cincinnati as an engineer in his twenties) argued with him, explaining the war was essentially over and there was no point. Wow! Tina and I were blown away by that! He bombed one small town that was a Nazi nest (which we went to visit) and two civilians were killed in that raid. So Dad held a fundraiser to rebuild that town. We went to the castle where he lived as an officer in Ebern and held the fundraiser. Its amazing to realize that the guy that went to work everyday, mowed the grass on Saturdays, went faithfully to church on Sundays, loved baseball (especially the Reds), read The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve, our dad, was an American soldier that made such an impact and held such great responsibility on his shoulders for so many. Veterans are an amazing, brave breed and should be treated with the utmost respect and regard. Most of us will never witness what they have or what they go through to keep us save on our soil. Honor our Veterans.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 13:04:06 +0000
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