Gary Nelson "Gary's World" Published May 27, 2005

That tune had a special meaning for one veteran

I'll never be able to listen to the classical song "Clair de Lune" the same. This happened to me several years ago. The song was played at my stepfather's funeral because it was one of his favorites.

Although that is a part of why the song won't ever be the same to me - it's not the whole reason. My stepfather was born in 1925 and was a World War II veteran. He passed away in January of 2003 after a lengthy battle with emphysema and cardio pulminary disease. These medical problems, as well as several others, were the result of smoking for decades. In fact, my stepfather, who was on oxygen 24/7 for the last year of his life, continued to smoke until his dying day. During the war he said smoking became his best friend.

Howard Nelson served his country in the ball turret or belly gunner position of a "Flying Fortress" B-17. He flew in 23 bombing missions over Germany during 1945 in the 91st Bomb Group, 322nd Squadron. In at least one case he almost didn't make it back.

On April 8, 1945 his crew's plane, Sweet Dish, was hit several times by anti-aircraft flak during a mission. The plane barely made it back to safety and the pilot was killed.

The plane next to theirs, Wee Willy, wasn't as fortunate. Wee Willy's wing was shot off and the plane crashed, killing the crew.

"I think a few of the crew members were able to bail out and make it," my stepfather would say as he told the story.

Now I heard this story at least no less than 5,000 times as I was growing up in Northern Indiana. Sure, as a kid, I got extremely tired of hearing the WWII War stories. I was especially tired of hearing about being "shot down out of the sky" from my stepfather.

WWII had a big impact on Howard's life. As a young 19-year-old soldier, it had a lasting impact on his entire life, behavior and the way he handled himself under pressure. I grew up hearing dozens of WWII expressions of speech like, "Look Mac," "Wake up and smell the coffee," "You two bird brains," "Come hell or high water," "Old battle axe," and "Whistling outhouse." These were just a few of the more popular sayings Howard used.

Although he had his specific war stories he told over and over again, he didn't like to talk about the war much more than that.

Like many of our veterans, there were things that he saw and had to do in order to survive. These were things that he never mentioned. A day doesn't go by that I don't think about him and how he affected my life. Although he didn't get to see the WWII Memorial open in Washington, he did know that it was under construction. It was well deserving for him and the countless thousands of others who made sacrafices during that war. He also knew that I respected him for what he had done and I told him that on several occassions before he passed away. Memorial Day was always one such occassion on which I'd call him and tell him how much I appreciated what he and the others had done for our country.

So if you have a veteran in your family, thank them while you can.

Now, back to "Clair de Lune." Howard had a younger sister, Marilynn, who passed away a few years before he did. She had Hepatitis C. Marilynn was a classically trained concert pianist who had studied music in college for years.

I always wondered why "Clair de Lune" was Howard's favorite song.

Well, the day he came back from serving in World War II, he was extremely tired. The 19-year-old soldier returned to his mother and father's home in Chicago and went to bed.

Howard said that the next day, when he awoke, it was to hearing his younger sister playing "Clair de Lune" on the family piano.

"It felt like it had all been a bad dream," Howard said.

He awoke to the sweetest music he had heard in a long time.

On this Memorial Day, please honor all the veterans of past and present. If it weren't for them, our country and lives would not be what they are today.

Thank you, veterans.

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Gary Nelson is a Chronicle staffwriter. His column appears periodically in the Crossville Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com.