World War II – Page 2 – Veterans' Words

Metals & Honor

Many years after my father died, my mother gave me a framed collection of my father’s World War II U.S. Army metals and insignia. The site icon on this website is one of them from which hangs his firearms qualifications: Rifle, Pistol-D, Rifle, Auto-Rifle. He was proud of his service and considered his years in the Maine National Guard and the Army during World War II as his most important contribution to the United States of America.

Although he was buried in his Captain’s uniform in the Golden Gate National Cemetery (as was his older brother, Hiram), my mother chose to keep his metals. Because I had a close relationship with my father throughout the final fifteen years of his life, she passed these to me as a memento of that relationship.

After the war and the death of my second brother, my dad suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and drank heavily for many years. Only my older sisters and surviving brother experienced this part of his life. At some point in the late 1940s, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous. From that point, his drink of choice was black coffee, his drug of choice was unfiltered nicotine from the two packs of Camel or Lucky Strike cigarettes per day, and his faith as a devout Christian sustained his mental strength.

In all the years I knew him, he attended church every Sunday and donated his skills as a carpenter to the pastor’s requests for a Cross lit from behind, repaired pews, laid carpet and a myriad of other tasks as part of his service to God.

Captain Thomas A. Verrill, US Army Retired was one of the best men I have ever known and his grandsons reflect this daughter’s love, pride and respect for him.

Leigh Verrill-Rhys
Author

PS: If you can identify any of the metals in the above photo, please let me know in the Comments below – much appreciated!

Army Wife WWII

As a start to Eres Books’s effort to give American Veterans an opportunity to tell their own stories, one of our authors has given us permission to publish her mother’s memoir of her life during the Second World War. Below is an introduction and an excerpt from Following the Troops: Life for an Army Wife 1941-1945.

My mother loved to tell stories about her life and I loved to listen. When I grew up and had an opportunity to publish her World War II adventures, I asked her to write these stories for a collection I was working on for Honno, the Welsh Women’s Press, Parachutes & Petticoats.

My parents had five children at the start of World War II. My father was in the Maine National Guard. Their story begins in December, 1941.

The Start of War (Excerpt)

The National Guard was activated after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Tom’s division, the 43rd, was to be stationed at Camp Blanding just outside of St. Augustine, Florida.

On the way down, Tom made out a training plan for the troops when they arrived at Camp. He was the only junior officer to have done this. He earned his First Lieutenant bars and was sent to Fort Benning for further schooling.

Tom wrote that he wanted us to come down to be near him. So on April 18th, we set out for Florida. The night before we had a bad snowstorm. We were already to go, so we started off anyway.

Virginia May Verge Verrill lived for another 60 years, raising two more children—I was one of them. Captain Thomas Anthony Verrill, U.S.Army, lived until 1964. He was so proud of his service to his country that he asked to be buried in his uniform.

— Leigh Verrill-Rhys

Following the Troops: Life for an Army Wife 1941-1945 is available from Eres Books for $0.99.