Day 5 - Guts, Gall, and Hard Times

J.P. Matthews helps lead Easter service.

Maria Williams turns around to talk with veteran Wayne Carringer.

Daniel Mallette reads information from The Hellship Memorial to veteran Wayne Carringer.

Group stands in front of The Hellship Memorial.

Larry Deckard, and Katie Klug stand with veteran Lawrence Nelson.

Today we have been enjoying the beach at beautiful Subic Bay. The area was originally developed during World War II due to it's strategic location--in fact, it was one of the most important areas of the War. 

Since today was Easter, we began the day with a service for our group led by our students. We spent twenty minutes on the beach enjoying the glories of God's creation and remembering the story of Christ's gift of salvation. The veterans enjoyed this time and gave us encouraging comments.

After the  service, we went into the town of Subic to see the Hellships memorial. A former School of the Ozarks student, Kaney Wilbanks, lost his life on one of these infamous transporters. In honor of what he did and the sacrifice he made, we presented a wreath at the monument. 

It is quite sobering to hear the tales of the men who survived the Hellships. Men who would tell of their experiences on the Bataan Death March hesitate to even speak of the horrors of the ships. Mr. Jorgensen, Mr. Carringer, Mr. Collier, and Mr. Ehrhart all spent time on the Hellships. Jim Erickson, who is a professor at Texas A&M, spoke to us about the history of these ships. There were quite a few tears in the eyes of the audience as he spoke of the horrendous conditions the men had to endure as they were transported by the Japanese.

After our time at the Hellships memorial, we had the choice to rest or attend a show at Ocean Adventure, a local ocean theme park. The Ocean Adventure was so much fun. Some of us got to see dolphins for the first time. Mr. Nelson, our veteran, went to Ocean Adventure, and we decided that the dolphins were better at diving than the high divers we'd seen in the first act. He is such a joy and is always thinking of funny things to do to make us laugh. What is special about Mr. Nelson is how he gets everyone to smile especially if they are feeling down. Not only that, he is so genuine and takes care of everyone. He wants to make sure that we are all healthy, happy, and well fed.

Mr. Nelson has been an inspiration to us. We have been having good natured arguments about who gets to sit next to him on our bus rides to and from the sites that we are visiting. In a discussion we all had together, Mr. Nelson used a phrase that we felt described him perfectly-- guts, gall, and hard times. 

We want to learn so much from Mr. Nelson. Not only is he good natured and has a lot of funny tidbits to share, he's also has a lot to teach us about the war. As future history teachers, we are soaking in the knowledge that Mr. Nelson is ready to impart to us. When the U.S. entered the war in 1941, Mr. Nelson was fourteen years old. Three years later, he was deemed fit for service by the Selective Service Administration. He tried to enlist in the Navy because he heard that they were better than the Army, but for some reason, they didn't think he was good enough. Then he tried to sign up for the Army paratroopers, but he wasn't quite tall enough. Finally, he tried to become a gunner, but they already had plenty of gunners. So he ended up enlisting in the Army and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry. After training, his group shipped out to the Philippines as replacements and Mr. Nelson was there for the last few weeks of the war. 

Throughout our experiences thus far, we see how blessed we are to be in the presence of a true hero. He often says that he went from a small farm boy to a big army man, and due to his actions, he has become a huge part of our lives. Without the efforts of men like Lawrence Nelson we might not be able to live in a country as great as the United States and have the freedoms we have today. For that we thank all veterans who have served in all the wars of the United States.

Larry Deckard and Katie Klug