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The

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 Issue III

WWII Veteran Recounts War

McMurran

familiar

is

face

Army Col. Jim Bowie can still

at

recall his first day at war as if it

school where

were only yesterday.

he used to visit
annually

The first thing that struck

to

me about going to war for the

speak to the

first time was the might and

Erin Coggins

what we can actually bring to

Great

Wars

bear. Its not until you actually

c l a s s e s.

see the United States mobilize

His

in a major way that it really

photo

graces

the

impresses you, Bowie said

social studies
hall

Erin Stender & McKenzie Ashmore

In-depth Editor & Opinion Editor

newly

ullets whiz by.

Hall

Mortars explode.

With

A wail rises from

I remember the

In a sit

cold weather [most],

down conversation

World War II veteran Harold

McMurran said.

As a private in
Army,
been

one of thousands
of soldiers facing the
tyrannical forces in Europe in
1944. McMurran joined the
Army after asking the drafting

poisoned
with
remember

cyanide.
a

German

office how long until he would

POW making our mashed

be shipped out. The answer was

potatoes, McMurran said. I

not long.

couldnt get word out to my

Youre full of adrenaline.

mother back home that I was

You dont know [if youll

in the hospital so she thought I

survive]. Youre nervous. [After

was missing for a few weeks.

all that],coming home was

McMurran

recalls

his

the best feeling in the world,

encounter with a Nazi SS officer

McMurran said.

that his comrades captured.

McMurran, a part of Gen.

The gleaming SS patch drew

George Pattons Third Army,

McMurrans attention and he

saw action on Utah Beach in

wanted it as a keepsake.

June 1944. He was poisoned by

He didnt want to give it to

a German prisoner of war and

me. So, I told him he would sit

reported missing to his mother

down and cut it off or you will

back home.

be laying on the ground and

I got very sick and went to

Ill have it, McMurran said.

the infirmary. Doctors said I had

He cut it off and gave it to

Veterans Day:
a history

Infographics and illustrations by Beryl Kessio

to adapt. In war, everything is

Heroes.

uncertain everything but

training.

McMurran,
one will be told about the
horrors of boot camp where
real bullets were shot, the
devastation

that

comes

with seeing friends killed

and seasickness that many
soldiers faced on the trip
to and from Europe. He
does not have kind words
to say about the legendary
Patton, just that the General
sacrificed lives for his own
glory.
I

remember

Patton

saying that he would get

something done if the Army
would give him a big truck
to send all the dogtags back
in, McMurran said.

Youre

had to learn a lot of things that,

of Imax D-Day and the

even in training we had never

local Veterans Day parade,

experienced, Bowie said. You

McMurran is a community

sort of get the knot in the pit

hero.

of your stomach-- hey this is

Veterans Day is the one day

it. I think a lot of us ended

we can be seen. Ive marched

up writing that last little letter

in the parade for the last 20

home to your wife just incase

years, McMurran said.

something were to happen.

Earlier this year, McMurran

For veterans, Nov. 11 is more

was awarded the highest

than a day off. It is a day to recall

medal that can be given to

their comrades in arms, both

a foreigner for the Battle

those who made it home and

of France. To McMurran,

those who were left behind.

the

medal

validated

his

Im

@TheCrimsonCrier
The Crimson Crier

crimsoncriernews.com

certainly

thankful

unwavering belief that the

that we have so many that

experience has forged him

Americans elect come into our

into a more patriotic man. He

voluntary service amazes me.

has no regrets.

Its [Veterans Day] a time for

What I want from [youth

today]

is

remembrance.

Without veterans, we wouldnt

me to be extremely thankful for

those individuals making that
decision, Bowie said.

have what we have today,

McMurran said.

WITH HONORS. Harold McMurran

poses with the medal awaded to
him by the French for his work
liberating the country on D-Day.
Photo by Erin Stender

Even today, soldiers

feel the weight of war
long after coming home.
A

veteran

of

both

Operation
Desert
Storm
and Iraqi
freedom,

1954

Congress approves
the establishment
of a Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier
in Arlington
National Cemetery.
Nov. 11 is chosen
for the date of
the ceremony

1919

not

premiere

1921

President
Wilson
proclaims
the first
Armistice
Day

unprepared,

really sure what to expect. You

This is hell. This is

McMurran was

formed

and

Centers

me.

was

Rocket

medic to the right.

war.

war

something to which he needed

speaking

Space

Bowie,

the

appearances at the

the left. The cry for a

the

of

in

For

Congress
directs the
President
to issue
an annual
proclamation
calling on the
observance of
Armistice Day

1926

A
Look
Inside

President
Eisenhower
changes the
name of the
legal holiday
from Armistice
Day to Veterans
Day

Information courtesy of:

http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/vetsday/vetshist.html

News pgs. 2-4, 16

Opinion pgs. 5-6
Lifestyles pgs. 7-9
Sports pgs. 11-13
In-Depth pgs. 14-15
A&E pg. 10