Veterans with Hunt County ties reflect on past and current service

Nov. 9—Each Veterans Day, Americans are reminded of the incredible cost paid by veterans of wars, both recent and long ago.

While the day is set aside as a special time to celebrate the men and women who either temporarily put their lives on hold to serve in the military or lost their lives fighting for their country, Veterans Day tends to bring different thoughts, memories and emotions to the mind of each individual veteran.

For James Baynham, a 99-year-old World War II veteran (who's the father-in-law of Quinlan Mayor Jacky Goleman), this time of year brings back memories of his fellow bomber crews who were shot down over Germany in September 1944.

Out of the 35 American B-24s that were on that mission, 31 of them were shot down, one of which Baynham was piloting. The other four members of his crew died and he spent seven months in a prisoner of war camp.

"I was liberated in May (of 1945). After my lucky strike, my family got a telegram that I'd returned to American control," Baynham said in a video posted by Brookdale Senior Living where he is a resident. "Everybody you ran into or touched treated you as a hero. All I knew for sure was that I lost my airplane, four of my guys had gotten killed and that's the only thing I really thought about.

"It was so hard to face reality," Baynham continued. "It was many years before I resolved what happened and that it wasn't my fault.

"Hector, James, Olen and Johnny — I just want my guys to be remembered," he added. "They were kids and they gave their lives for us and I just need to make sure they're remembered."

Similar to how Baynham sees the remembrance of his comrades as a life mission of his, other veterans have taken up the charge of serving other surviving veterans through whatever challenges they are facing.

Such is the case of former Greenville City Councilman and former Hunt County Disabled American Veterans Association Commander John Turner, who works to help veterans with their VA claims and informing them about other services available to them.

"Although I have been retired from the Navy for quite some time, my memories, feelings and thoughts linger back to all those men and women with whom I have served in so many foreign lands, submarines and shore bases," Turner said.

"Although the same type of closeness and camaraderie just isn't there as before, I serve veterans nearly daily by assisting them with their benefits claims," Turner continued. "This helps ease some of my pain as well as that of the veteran and their family.

"I still feel a constant loss, however, because so many veterans do not realize the advantages they have for themselves and their families, because they are not fully briefed by the military relating to benefits they have earned," he added."That is why I strive so earnestly to get the word out for all veterans to seek assistance from the VA to upgrade their status in life for themselves and their families."

In addition to reflecting on their service and helping their fellow veterans, especially with all the community support that's shown at various Veterans Day programs throughout Hunt County, some veterans think about their childhood friends who grew up in the area and went on to serve in the military.

One veteran who thinks a lot about his hometown and its connection with the military is Bill Caldwell of Greenville who grew up in Celeste where he and a group of boys used to play with one of World War II's most famous veterans, Audie Murphy.

"In 1935, when I was 11 years old, dad gave up the 64-acre farm [at Webb Hill] and moved us to Celeste, and he rented a house on the north side of town between two railroad tracks ... There, I got to know the other boys, the Sullivans, Cawthorns, Audie Murphy and a few more," Caldwell recollected.

With Caldwell, Murphy and the others growing up before the age of television, video games and the like, the group of boys spent much of their time playing outside. Many of their adventures involved using a shotgun borrowed from a neighbor to shoot cans.

"Near my home, Audie dared me to climb an old splintered telegraph pole barefooted. I jumped off and landed on a large, dry weed with my right foot [and puncturing it]. That wasn't fun ... For a while, I was only able to walk on my left foot," Caldwell explained, giving context to one of his can-shooting stories.

"Bob loaded the shotgun shells with metal balls or slugs to make it kick. He told Audie and me to shoot it, and we did," Caldwell said. "I shot first and it caused me to spin around because I was standing mostly on my left foot. Audie laughed at me but then it was his turn. He was smart, though. He placed the gun on a bush, got down on his knees and shot the can, but his shell was loaded with a slug too so he landed on his back.

"It was then my turn, with the others, to laugh. It was all in fun."

While Caldwell has childhood memories of growing up near Murphy, he's also very careful not to exaggerate the closeness of their friendship.

And just as Caldwell prefers to remain humble about his service, several veterans admit that they sometimes feel awkward when civilians thank them for their service.

"I think about my dad who served in World War II in the Army on Saipan and Tinian Islands, and he died on Nov. 12, 1988," said Frank "Dutch" Prigmore, who left the U.S. Army in 1991 and later retired from the Army Reserves in 2004. "I spent that Veterans Day by his side and was with him in the early hours of the morning of the 12th, when he took his last breath. I was a newly promoted buck sergeant and performed the military honors at his funeral.

"I think about the years I served, the soldiers I served with, the hundreds of soldiers I trained for combat (as a drill sergeant) and I hope I did my job and they survived," Prigmore said. "Most folks that served are humble and although I am extremely proud of the time I served, I find it awkward when people thank me for my service.

"For years I struggled with what to say to them, and finally I came up with one, 'Thank you for being a good American for me to have served our country for.'"