Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 62



Only Noblemtl

#062

“This is all show, show.”

Thomas grumbled and frowned as he looked at the photo of MacArthur bowing his head before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Young Bride.

Looking at Thomas like that, the wife tilted her head and asked back.

“Why? I heard that you saved money on wedding expenses and donated it to the cause.”

Thomas clicked his tongue at his wife’s words as if he didn’t know anything.

“Don’t you know that I’m all set up? Don’t be fooled by something that looks good on the outside.”

So, Thomas wasn’t this cynical from the beginning.

Even ten years ago, Thomas was a very naive young man.

Thomas C. Naebaur.

He was once the most famous sergeant in America, having fallen for the propaganda to fight for freedom and left for Europe.

As a soldier in the 42nd Division led by Brigadier General MacArthur, he was the protagonist of an incredible feat of capturing 11 German soldiers with just one pistol.

Brigadier General MacArthur worked with the press to publicize his exploits across the country, and as a result, he had the honor of becoming the first enlisted man in U.S. military history to receive the Medal of Honor.

He even received a medal directly from the famous European Expeditionary Force Commander Pershing.

“Back then, I naively believed that it was all for my benefit.”

May 1919.

When the war ended and he returned home, Thomas thought his life would go smoothly.

That’s because when I arrived in my hometown of Sugar City, Idaho,

Bambarabam~

He was greeted by a huge crowd of people, as the marching music of the orchestra resonated.

“Thomas, Thomas”

“Proud Idaho Man”

“You are the best.”

“awesome!!”

No wonder, Thomas was the first Idaho resident to receive the Medal of Honor. He was the pride of Idaho and one of its greatest citizens.

“Welcome to Idaho, Corporal Thomas C. Neibauer, who brought honor to Idaho.”

The governor who put a flower necklace on him,

“Today is Naver Day.”

They even declared a public holiday, shouting, “Let’s go!”

According to a newspaper article published the next day, the crowd that day was well over 10,000 people.

And in November of that year, Thomas got married.

“It was really the best until then···.”

But life wasn’t easy.

The child brought by his divorced wife and the children he had while living with her.

The couple had nine children, and Thomas had to work tirelessly to make ends meet.

The Medal of Honor was a proud memory, but memories don’t feed you.

Although there is a pension for Medal of Honor recipients, it is not enough to support a family of eleven, including a married couple.

First of all, receiving the Medal of Honor doesn’t suddenly make an idiot a genius.

Even his broken hip bone from the final battle left a scar that would last a lifetime, despite long healing.

Those who had once hailed him as the pride of Idaho soon changed their tune.

“Oh, you’re that Thomas? Oh. That’s great. But our company is···”

“Who? Thomas? Who is that… Ah, ah. Medal of Honor.”

Fewer and fewer people recognized him,

Those who cared for his injuries also began to gradually disappear.

Before he knew it, he had become a worker in a sugar beet factory.

It wasn’t so bad at first though.

The economy was booming, and the factories that processed beets into sugar were running so well that 24 hours was not enough.

“But there are children who will soon become independent, so this isn’t so bad.”

“That’s right. I guess meeting you was the best luck I’ve ever had.”

It’s not that there weren’t children who died from illness or accidents here and there, but that was a common occurrence.

Still, six out of nine were healthy, so it was a pretty successful child-rearing streak.

So Thomas thought his life was going well.

But the misfortune was fleeting.

“Ahhhhh”

Beep.

While working at a factory, his arm got caught in a cutting machine.

“Grab it and pull.”

“evil.”

“This is not going to come off.”

“Look, I think we’re going to have to completely disassemble the machine.”

“Then we must do it.”

“Come on, come on.”

“Thomas, just be patient for a little longer.”

His colleagues dismantled the machine and rescued Thomas, but there was nothing they could do about his crushed arm.

“I thought you were going to die, Thomas, but you have a very long lifespan.”

“Hey, this kid is the one who caught a few Jerrys with one pistol···.”

“Haha, didn’t you just yell at the god of death and chase him away?”

People said it was a miracle that he survived, but honestly, Thomas thought it would have been better if he had just died.

“What kind of work can I do for a living like this?”

And that grand medal of honor didn’t help him at all while he lived such a hard life.

So it was perhaps natural that he became such a cynical person.

however,

“But you never know.”

“joy.”

The wife glanced at Thomas, who turned his head away as if to tell her to do whatever she wanted because he was not interested, and then picked up her pen after thinking about it.

##

“Aren’t you sad? It’s your one and only honeymoon.”

“But with so much work to do, I can’t rest for long.”

There are couples who go on honeymoons overseas for several months, but I couldn’t do that.

It was because I, the Army Chief of Staff, was busier than Anna, who worked at the foundation.

It’s been quite some time since the Foundation was created, so I thought it was well known enough to be known.

It seems that we were mistaken.

As soon as the news spread that the couple had donated their wedding savings to the Rainbow Foundation, the foundation was flooded with inquiries.

“Aside from the 42nd Division, we are receiving a huge number of inquiries from those who fought in the Great War.”

“It’s not enough for the foundation to accommodate them all.”

“Is money the problem?”

“First of all, money is important, but the human resources issue is a bigger issue. Can’t we just unconditionally send out support funds?”

Fortunately, not everyone who contacted the Foundation needed help.

“I would like to donate even a small amount of money to help veterans.”

“I am doing well, so I want to help my comrades in need.”

“I want to give my allowance to the soldiers who fought bravely for our country.”

“I am sending you this check in memory of my deceased son.”

Donations came from all over the country, from a child’s pocket money to an old woman’s tear-stained check.

It was common for Minoh, who was the director of the Nana Foundation, and Marcus, who was in charge of the work, to receive a large sum of money at once through their connections.

However, as the foundation’s existence became widely known after my marriage, the number of people who wanted to support it increased, and small donations poured in.

“They say a little goes a long way, but this is not an amount that can be ignored.”

“That’s right. In times like these, we need to make budget management transparent.”

“Is that so? But, Madam, are you still working at the foundation?”

Marcus, who was joking that he wanted to borrow a cat’s paw, seemed worried that Anna might quit her job.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep going.”

“but···.”

My mother, Mrs. Pinky, wasn’t very pleased with it. The reason she pushed for the marriage was to get a daughter-in-law who would take care of me and my family.

“Mother still has some energy, and more than anything, the foundation work is urgent right now.”

“I’m glad. And I think the president should know about this…”

The document Marcus handed over had a familiar name written on it.

Thomas C. Naebaur.

“This guy. What on earth happened to him…”

How could I forget?

He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. I couldn’t hide my bitter feelings at the news of my former subordinate, whom I thought was living well, as no news was good news.

“What kind of support do you want?”

“I didn’t ask for much. I only asked for living expenses and education for my children, and that was the bare minimum.”

Even his humble request couldn’t hide his complicated feelings.

“He’s not just a war veteran, he’s also a Medal of Honor recipient. How on earth does the Idaho state government do that?”

“That’s right.”

If this is the life of a Medal of Honor recipient, what kind of difficulties must others be facing?

First, I wrote a letter to Thomas.

After writing that he paid tribute to his life, which must have been difficult for him, and he persevered and lived on,

‘What was my last order? Didn’t I say that if you ever face any difficulties, look for MacArthur? Even though you’ve been discharged from the army, how can you forget your superior’s last order? Huh? Was MacArthur that bad?’

I wanted to write a lot of harsh words, but…

“Please be patient.”

“after.”

“Now you know. You know what kind of person you are, so don’t be so upset.”

I could barely contain myself from hearing Anna’s words, so I wrote a letter on her behalf to thank her for contacting me.

and,

“I should write letters to the governor and the legislators. No matter what, they can’t believe they’re allowing a Medal of Honor recipient to live in such misery.”

I thought it would look better if the local area took care of it rather than me continuing to step forward.

##

“Oh my god, I really got a letter from General MacArthur?”

“This is all···.”

As expected from a small town in the countryside, the rumor spread like wildfire.

When people heard that the MacArthur they had only read about in the newspaper had sent Thomas, who had been left with a crippled arm in a factory accident, a flood of letters and gifts came to him, they all came looking for him.

The excuse was to visit the sick, but the reality was that he wanted to confirm the rumor.

“It turns out you really did know MacArthur.”

“Did you know I was lying all this time?”

“No, if it’s a division, how many people are there? It’s a bit much to say that the privates and the division commander know each other…”

“That’s true. Our general was truly an extraordinary man.”

“Anyway, I guess you don’t have to worry anymore.”

He put on a proud expression and showed off to those who envied him, but honestly, the one who was the most embarrassed was none other than Thomas.

‘You really haven’t forgotten me…’

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t stand complaining and criticizing without even knowing the truth.

“See? Am I right?”

His wife gave Thomas a triumphant look.

“Yeah. You were right.”

“So let’s not give up and keep fighting.”

“Yeah. Okay, let’s do that.”

So Thomas could once again become the talk of Sugar City.

People in similar situations were quite envious of Thomas.

“If I had known this would happen, would I have enlisted then?”

“Yeah, that’s what happened.”

“You’re not accepting it now?”

“Oh my. There’s no war, so who would take in a middle-aged man like you?”

However, not everyone looked upon Thomas with a good heart.

“Tch, lucky kid.”

“Why? But you still have the Medal of Honor.”

“Yeah. It’s not something that just happens to everyone. But honestly, there are many people who have done more than him. People like Corporal York are the real deal.”

“That’s right. I was just lucky. I got to meet a superior like MacArthur.”

“They say life is all about luck.”

Those who fought in Europe and risked their lives, but returned home in loneliness without even receiving a proper war allowance, let alone a medal, had to rub their aching stomachs at the sight of Thomas’ good fortune.

Especially when those who were burdened by the hardships of life, like Thomas some time ago, gathered together, they would mention Thomas’ good fortune and lament their own circumstances.

So the catastrophe was slowly approaching.

It was autumn, October 1929.