Props & Pans: I understand why my father omitted details of his military service

Many combat veterans are unwilling to discuss what they did in battle. My father served in World War I, and he never talked about his service. My father died many decades ago, and he took his military service to the grave with him.

Recently, I came across my father’s Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army. It was dated June 25, 1919, and produced entirely on a worn-out typewriter. The discharge also included a summary of my father’s service record, and he participated in the Meuse Argonne Offensive.

I looked up this offensive and found it was the largest in U.S. military history involving 1.2 million American soldiers. It is the deadliest battle in American history. This offensive inspired the movie “The Lost Battalion.” It was one of a series of Allied attacks that brought the war to an end.

This offensive was as significant as the D-Day landings during World War II. I would have never known about my father’s service had it not been for that old tattered discharge paper. I was very proud of his service, and I understood why he did not want to talk about it. My father and other service members were mere boys when they experienced horrors that they struggled to forget for the rest of their lives.

Maybe the military branches should include a brief summary of the veterans’ service records on discharges today. Their children can learn of their service without asking them to dredge up memories best forgotten.

— Tommy Johnson, Oklahoma City

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: I understand why my father omitted his military service details