The Shadow of Victory
By Henry Piarrot For a majority of Americans, the post WWII age produced a period of prosperity never before experienced by our country. With a new GI Bill of Rights, the federal government insured that homes would be built with low interest loans and actually kept its promise to educate every willing veteran. But, represented in each neighborhood throughout the Union, were the women who lost their husbands. Amid the half million US servicemen who died in the conflict, approximately one third were fathers who suddenly left their families behind to grieve in the shadows of Freedom’s great victory.
Born in 1920,
young Bob Stecher met Ruth McGarvey across their back yard fence while they were still kids. Time passed and they began dating nearly two years before Bob was drafted in the spring of 1942. After three months of basic training, the 22 year
old future Army engineer was allowed ten
days at
home in New Jersey before going overseas. Private Stecher and Ruth married on July 28,1942. They would have barely a week together as husband and wife.
Assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers, Stecher was first shipped to England for more training. Meanwhile, in North Africa, the Battle of El Alamein occurred. The British were led by General Montgomery and “
The Desert Fox” General Rommel, commanded the Germans. Soon after, young Stecher found his first battlefield on November 8, 1942 when the
“Operation Torch” landings took place in North Africa. This marked the first physical American participation in the western war and also introduced the soon to be infamous General George Patton to the world. Surviving Africa, Stecher and The Allies began the invasion of Europe in early July 1943 with landings on Sicily, the island just off the southern coast of Italy. Two months later, the Italian government surrendered unconditionally. Then, on June 4, 1944, two days before “
Operation Overlord,” the “
D- Day” invasion of Northern France occurred, Allied forces entered Rome.By the time the now 24 year old soldier reached southern France on August 3, 1944, he was an experienced combat veteran. Bob was also the father of a 16 month old girl he had yet to meet.
While her daddy was still fighting his way out of North Africa, Carolyn was born April 22, 1943. Ruth had sent him a photograph of his young daughter and through all the chaos of war, he never lost it. His letters home tell of his pride to be a parent and his impatience to return to his family. He almost made it.Stecher had a job that required building the infrastructure that allow armies to advance. Combat engineers often do this while under attack. After two and a half years of fighting as part of three campaigns across two continents, Bob’s tour of France would only last twelve days.
Previously decorated twice for long excursions behind enemy lines, no one could question his bravery before August 15,1944. But on that day, while on patrol, Stecher’s platoon found themselves in the midst of a mine field. He initially cleared the dangerous ground, but another soldier not too far behind fell wounded and Stecher went back for him. Both young men, lost their futures that day.
More than six decades have passed since Carolyn Stecher became a fatherless child. Consequently, for her and her mother, Father’s Day is a tempered celebration. No one can really know what would have been had Bob not gone back into that mine field. She only knows that her daddy would have been at home with her if he could. He very much wanted to be a good husband and father, he was already a hero.
Henry Piarrot is a hotel manager in Sevier County. Please send all story recommendations to hpiarrot@yahoo.com
More reviews about the The Mountain Press