Remembering Our Nation's POWs and MIAs

Often, we hear stories of those who made it home from war or those who paid the ultimate sacrifice fighting for their country. However, we do not always hear the stories of those who were captured or never found in conflict—our nation’s Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA). Nonetheless, their families grieve just like Gold Star families, but without closure. To put this into perspective, as of June 9, 2016, there are still 1,618 unaccounted for POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War according to the National League of POW/MIA families.

Personally, when I think of D-Day MIAs, my first thought goes to Staff Sgt. Raymond S. Hoback, one of our Bedford Boys. His story, as told below by his sister, Lucille, demonstrates the pain felt by MIA families:

The next day [after receiving the news of Bedford’s death on D-Day], in our childish way, my sister Rachel and I thought we might cheer our folks up by making them some ice cream.  We were over the freezer cranking away when there was another knock – another telegram.  “The War Department regrets,” the too-familiar preamble read, “to inform you that your son, Staff Sgt. Raymond Samuel Hoback is missing in action.”  Mom and Dad were overcome with grief and I along with them.  To this moment I can remember nothing else that happened that day.  Time simply stopped.
 

Raymond Hoback, D-Day MIA

Raymond was never found. Several of his company mates subsequently reported seeing him lying on the beach near water’s edge, whether wounded or dead they did not know.  What is clear is that he, along with dozens others like him, was taken by the tide into the sea.  A word now about Providence, which manifested itself in the form of a package that arrived at our house a few days later.  It was a book sent by a soldier from W. Virginia, who had landed a day after Raymond had gone ashore.  “While walking on the beach on D-Day plus one,” he wrote, “…I came upon this Bible, and as most any person would do I picked it up from the sands to keep it from being destroyed.”  It was the Bible she had given Raymond for Christmas in 1938.  It was her only tangible connection to her missing son.  She treasured it for the rest of her life, as I treasure it today.

Because they were unable to bring home Raymond, the Hobacks chose to keep Bedford in the American Cemetery at Normandy. Unfortunately, this is just one of the thousands of stories of POW/MIA families across the United States.

If you are in the area, we would love for you to join the National D-Day Memorial on Saturday, September 17 at 11 a.m. for a ceremony to honor our nation's POWs and MIAs.  The event will include a special Missing Man ceremony, wreath laying, songs by Rick Dellinger, and keynote speaker Robert O. Gray, POW, Korea. Gray enlisted in the Army in 1949 at the age of 17. He was stationed in Japan as part of the 24th Infantry Division until he was sent to Korea at the start of the war there.  He was captured by the enemy in November 1950, and spent 34 months in a POW camp. 

Gates open at 10 a.m. and admission is free until noon.  Please bring a chair as seating is limited.  Sam's Dogs will be on site with food available for purchase. Rolling Thunder Chapter 4 and Lynchburg Harley Davidson will also host a Benefit Run to the Memorial on the morning of this event.  For more information on how to participate or donate to the cause, email RTVACH4@gmail.com or click here.  

2015's POW/MIA Ceremony

Until Next Time,

Maggie

The Last of the Bedford Boys: Allen Huddleston

Hello Again, Friends!

Allen Huddleston during training with the
29th Division 116th Regiment Co. A

It’s with a heavy heart that we publish this un-anticipated blog post. Yesterday, the United States lost the last of the famous Bedford Boys—the ones who valiantly stormed onto the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach in the first wave on D-Day. Just over 40 men from Bedford participated in the D-Day invasion and unfortunately 19 of them were dead by the end of the day on June 6, 1944. This was devastating for the small town of Bedford, which is recognized as having the most men per capita killed on D-Day. Today, we honor Allen Huddleston’s valor, fidelity, and sacrifice on D-Day and want to share his story.

During World War II before the U.S. entered the war, Allen Huddleston worked as a soda jerk at Lyle’s drugstore in downtown Bedford and married his wife, Geraldine, who was a cousin of fellow Bedford Boy, Nick Gillaspie. Knowing that military service was inevitable, he decided to join the National Guard’s 29^th Division 116^th Regiment Company A since he wanted to go to war with people he knew instead of taking a chance with the draft.

Robert Key and Allen Huddleston

After training at Fort Meade for a year and a half, Company A left for England in September 1942 on the Queen Mary, which was under strict orders not to stop for anything. Because of this, she split one of her escort ships, Curacao, in half. Huddleston witnessed the event: "I was lying on my bunk when I felt a slight thud. I looked out a porthole, just in time to see half a ship sinking. We didn't even slow down." Those on the boat were shocked that the Queen Mary kept going instead of rescuing the hundreds of men who were drowning.

During their time in England, the Bedford Boys spent time camping out on the moors. Huddleston recounted how no one could stay dry and that one time they had to set up their pup tents in a driving rain and Captain Fellers kicked down those that were not perfectly aligned, even with people in them.While training for the invasion, Allen broke his ankle practicing unarmed combat strategies with Sergeant Robert Goode, also of Bedford. As a result, he missed the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.

Allen Huddleston after WWII with his camera

He rejoined the Company A on August 28^th in Brest, France. He did not recognize anyone, and even found out that fellow Bedford Boy, Joe Parker, had died the day before he arrived. Another Bedford Boy, Mess Sergeant Earl Newcomb, was still with Company A, but Huddleston never saw him. Just a month later during the Aachen offensive, Huddleston was re-injured—this time with a shoulder injury from the shrapnel of a shell. He was sent home shortly afterward and arrived back in Bedford in April 1945.

As one of the few Bedford Boys to return from Europe, Allen Huddleston said he had someone

looking out for him on the day of the D-Day invasion. After the war, he and Geraldine welcomed two sons and he opened a photography shop in Bedford. He is also credited with writing the inscription on the monument dedicated to the Bedford Boys in 1954 in front of the Courthouse in downtown Bedford.

It truly is the end of an era for Bedford, and the United States. But, it is also a chilling reminder that our time is limited to honor and thank all WWII veterans while they are still with us. More than ever it is important to preserve and share the legacy of Mr. Huddleston, the Bedford Boys, and all D-Day and WWII veterans for future generations. I want to encourage you to thank the WWII veterans in your family or in your neighborhoods for the service, and to take the time to listen to their stories. What motivates people to share the legacy of our WWII veterans is not facts and statistics about WWII, but stories that make the war personal to them.

Here at the National D-Day Memorial we do this through our educational programming and by maintaining for the nation a memorial to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied forces that took part in the landing at Normandy, France on 6 June 1944. Visit our website at www.dday.org to find out more about visiting the Memorial, our educational initiatives and programming, and how to support the Memorial in telling the D-Day story today and ensure its retelling tomorrow.

Until Next Time,

Maggie and Ches

Sources

Kershaw, Alex. The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.

“The Last of the Bedford Boys.” Combat 15.1 (Winter 2007).