Happy Memorial Day!

Not all wars are just, but I believe the wars in which my father and great-grandfather fought were just wars. Here's the memories of my father and great grandfather.

1. M. Lee Schenck (1924-2012)

2011, The Gathering

My father was drafted into World War II when he was 18, right after graduating from high school in 1943. Dad was in the Ordnance Corp. He started out in Patton's 3rd Army, 563 Ordnance Company. But while still in New Orleans he became Master Sergeant in a new ordnance company. This would keep him away from the Battle of the Bulge.

His company, in which he ended as Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank, thankfully never had to see the front line. They were in Cheltenham, England, not long after D-Day. Then in Nancy, France as the war in Europe came to an end. Then he was finally in Mannheim, Germany when VJ Day came, spared having to enter the Pacific arena.

Dad in Mannheim, 1945

2. Elijah Washington Shepherd (1839-1896)
My great grandfather fought in the Civil War as part of the 11th Infantry regiment, which organized in Indianapolis in 1861. He was injured in Helena, Arkansas while escorting an unruly soldier back to camp. Apparently, a cavalry man ran over him with his horse in the process, late 1862 or early 1863. I've pasted the later report below. Nevertheless, he seems to have been able to stay with his regiment until the end of the war in 1865.