26-05-2025
Bill OBoyle: Never forget our fallen heroes
May 25—WILKES-BARRE — On Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
They are all our most cherished heroes.
My friend, Korean War veteran Joe Barna, 96, of Freeland, has two Purple Hearts and he knows and respects all veterans who have gone to battle. He especially holds dearest to his heart those who gave their lives for us.
Mr. Barna said he made it back home and he sometimes wonders, "How?"
"I look at my body and I still have two arms and two legs." he said. "I still have the same head, but it is full of memories."
Mr. Barna says trying to describe war is not easy.
"You have to live it, not read about it," he said. "You have to hear it, smell it, feel it. The scars come from bullets, shells, bayonets and the weather. There are other scars too — the scars you can't see. Scars in the minds of those who spent over a year in hell. They brought these demons home with them"
Mr. Barna says combat is an ugly word and holds many memories for those who survive it.
"For a while you tell yourself you're OK, but then something triggers a memory and you are brought back to those moments as if they are happening again," he said.
Mr. Barna said Memorial Day is not a day to celebrate, but to remember and to continue to give honor to all the Americans who fought and died for a country they believed in.
"Today should be about all our veterans and flags in our cemeteries," Mr. Barna said. "The flags show everyone where our heroes now sleep under a blanket of grass. In war, many young men, who are really just getting over being called a boy, will fight, and some will die. They will not get a chance to pick where he will fight nor will they get the chance to choose how they may die. God will take many of them too soon."
Mr. Barna said he was 11 years old when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
"I remember it was a Sunday morning and we heard on the radio that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor," he recalled. "I was at my uncle's bowling alley. I did not know what these words meant, but I was soon to learn the full meaning. Over the next several years, I would see my town's young men, only a few years older than I, come home in flag-draped coffins. This war would last until 1945. In Washington D.C., there was a World War II monument. At the monument there is a wall that holds 4,048 gold stars. Each star represents 100 American dead. That adds up to 404,800 American lives."
Mr. Barna then talked about "his war" — Korea — "a war where our thousands fought over a million North Korean and Chinese soldiers." The Korean War lasted 3 years — more than 36,000 Americans died.
"In Washington D.C., 19 larger-than-life, sculpted figures of soldiers, Marines and a Navy Corpsman endlessly patrol along side a dark, reflective marble wall. On the wall, are more images of the war. These haunting images are almost calling to the marching men. I can almost hear them."
And the third war Mr. Barna spoke of was Vietnam.
"Again young men were called to carry a weapon and to kill an enemy. Upon another long wall in Washington D.C., lies 58,000 names of service men and women who gave their lives.
"When I visit a local cemetery, I stop and read many of the stones," Mr. Barna said. "On these is a birth date, a date of death and a name inscribed in between. Think about it — between the dates is the story of a life.
"This is what Memorial Day is."
So on this Memorial Day, try to think about what it must have felt like for all those soldiers who fought in all those battles in all those wars.
Think of what it must have felt like to know that you may never return to your country, to your hometown, to your loved ones — to your "life."
That you may never marry, have children, hold a job, buy a new car or have a beer with your pals at the local bar.
Think about going to battle realizing that this day — this moment — might be your last day alive — that your next breath may be your last.
That you may give your life for your country and all Americans back home.
This is what these soldiers did — and they did it without question.
And far too many gave the ultimate sacrifice
They are who we remember on Memorial Day. We remember them for what they did for us and we thank them — we pray for them.
Our fallen heroes.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
