D.C. visit emotional for vets

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­- John Yost, with tears building in the corner of his eyes, stood still and solemn as a zephyr of wind disturbed the otherwise pleasant autumn afternoon.

"I lost too many friends," the 86-year-old World War II veteran said quietly. "Too many."

His aged voice broke, cracking as he went on.

"I wonder sometimes if they were alive today, if they'd say it was all worth it. I wonder sometimes myself if it was worth it."

His reflective moment was inspired by the ground on which he stood, a place he had never before set foot, a place that honors what he and his generation sacrificed to protect freedom: The National World War II Memorial.

Yost was one of 40 veterans who took a complimentary King Coal Tours bus trip to visit several war memorials in the nation's capital on Thursday.

Departing at 7 a.m. with veterans from Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Ashland, Kulpmont, Catawissa, Frackville and other local

communities, the trip was the brainchild of Harry Hodge, a driver for King Coal Tours. The veterans also saw the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the White House and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Yost was drafted into the U.S. Army 30th Infantry Division at the age of 19 in 1944 and was discharged in 1945 as a staff sergeant. Because he was so young when he entered the military, he said he had a glorified idea of what to expect.

"I never knew it was going to be anything like it was," he said. "I thought it was going to be fun. It wasn't fun."

Yost was injured three times as he fought through northern France into Germany, and was sent home after his third injury - a back injury - during the Battle of the Bulge. Some of the wounds, he admits, were psychological as well.

"I'll never forget it," he said.

All 48 states that sent soldiers are represented at the memorial, and 400 gold stars signify the 400,000 Americans who died during the war.

"It's hard to think the ones that should see this, can't see this," said Yost.

Thanked by strangers

Sitting on a park bench near the memorial, Kulpmont resident Andrew Szoke, who also saw the monument for the first time, said he was not only amazed by its beauty, but also by the people who viewed it. More than once, complete strangers walked up to him, shook his hand and thanked him for what he did for the country.

"People are grateful. It brought tears to my eyes," said the World War II veteran, who was wearing a VFW post commander hat. "No one in my life ever said that, but here were so many people. Is today a special day? I can't place it."

Pausing, the 90-year-old thought for a second before continuing. "Well," he said, "when you're here (at the memorial), it is special."

Szoke was drafted into the Army on July 7, 1941 at the age of 22 and returned home on Nov. 22, 1945. He fought through Normandy and northern France and left the service as a sergeant.

He was one of 14 veterans representing World War II on the trip. Eighteen people who fought in the Vietnam War, six who fought in the Korean War and two who fought during Operation Desert Storm were also on the trip, as well as family members who accompanied several veterans, including Szoke's son, Jeff, of Wilkes-barre.

"I'm so thankful for the people who sacrificed for our country," Jeff Szoke said. "They dropped everything to save the world as we know it. Strangers are saying thank you. It's nice that people are realizing what the greatest generation has done."

Gung ho

Another memorial, dedicated to FDR, one of two presidents who held office during World War II, was also visited by the traveling veterans Thursday.

"After they (the Japanese) bombed Pearl Harbor, I wanted to go serve my country," said John Hirsh, 83, of Mount Carmel, as he walked the paths surrounding the FDR memorial. "We were all gung ho, me and my buddies."

Hirsch, rather than being drafted, joined the Navy at age 17 and was part of the Philippine invasion. He turned 18 while serving overseas. He was discharged in 1948.

"All the veterans should see (the WWII memorial)," he said, noting it was the first time seeing it himself.

Like many of the veterans on the King Coal Tours excursion, former U.S. Army truck mechanic Paul Diefenderfer, 60, of Ashland, had never been to the memorials. In fact, he had never visited the nation's capital before Thursday's trip.

He said he had seen the memorials on television, but, "To see it with my own eyes, it's different."

Diefenderfer, a Vietnam War veteran, was drafted April 23, 1969, when he was 20 years old. He went almost immediately to Vietnam.

"I landed in October 1969. There were guys cheering to get on (to leave), and I was getting off," he said. "I was wondering if I'd ever get back on."

The fighting rarely showed its gruesome face where he was stationed, he explained. The explosions were mainly seen far away in the distant mountains. His memories, he said thankfully, are of outdoor movie theaters and visiting celebrities.

Diefender was touched emotionally as the bus pulled into Washington, D.C.

"It makes you want to cry, seeing it for the first time," he said.

Bill Brenish, 76, of Elysburg, was another veteran who never had a chance to visit the monument that honors those with whom he served: The Korean War Veterans Memorial.

A corporal in the Army, he came home in 1952. He has wanted to visit the memorial since it was dedicated in 1995. Brenish's face was reflected in the memorial's glassy wall as he walked by, mirroring those engraved in the granite surface.

"The only thing I'm thinking about is when the war broke out, if I hadn't been shipped to Guam two weeks earlier, I'd have been on the front lines," he said.

As for the memorial, he said, "I'm glad I made it here before I died."

The day ended much like it began. A long highway, darkness and the tales of war and service drifting between the bus seats. Finally, those who hadn't seen, have, and they know without a doubt it was a special day.