Remembering a legacy
D-Day paratrooper from Fairchance researched by great-nephew
Brett Hickle无毛视频檚 father loved reading about World War II as a child. So when he无毛视频檇 go to visit extended family, it would have been natural for him to ask a family member who served what it was like.
But the people who无毛视频檇 seen the kind of combat that would excite a young World War II buff are often the most reluctant to speak about it.
The family directive was 无毛视频渘o one ask Uncle Bill about the war,无毛视频� said Hickle, of Parkersburg, W.Va.
So it wasn无毛视频檛 until the obituary for Bill P. Straitiff came out that Hickle and his father learned that Straitiff had served in the Army无毛视频檚 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 无毛视频� the same regiment as the group famously profiled in the book and miniseries 无毛视频淏and of Brothers.无毛视频�
That led to Hickle digging into the history of the Fairchance native, and even meeting some of his comrades who, like Straitiff, jumped into Normandy on D-Day.
He started search the internet for Straitiff无毛视频檚 name. It popped up in an account in 101st veteran Donald Burgett无毛视频檚 memoir, 无毛视频淏eyond the Rhine.无毛视频� Straitiff, a body builder, punched out an SS officer in a fistfight and threw him into the river.
无毛视频淚 shared that with my dad, and he said, 无毛视频楾hat sounds like Uncle Bill,'无毛视频� Hickle said.
Straitiff entered the Army in December 1942. He was discharged in November 1945, receiving the Ruptured Duck lapel pin for honorable service.
A news article from the time said Straitiff was the only paratrooper from Fairchance to serve in World War II, Hickle said.
In those three years, Straitiff earned a number of medals and commendations, including a Bronze Star. He received a Parachute Badge with an arrowhead 无毛视频� denoting a combat drop 无毛视频� and two stars.
Straitiff无毛视频檚 Purple Heart came after being wounded in Noville-lez-Bastogne in Belgium, where the Americans were holding off a German siege during the Battle of the Bulge.
Still a private when he jumped into Normandy, he became a sergeant by the end of the war.
Looking to learn more about his uncle, Hickle began writing to Burgett and other veterans who无毛视频檇 served in the 101st when he was in high school.
One responded to him, eventually inviting him to a reunion of the 101st无毛视频檚 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, A Company, in 2005.
无毛视频淚 was actually the first non-veteran they put in their company photo,无毛视频� he said.
Hickle got to hear the memories of those who无毛视频檇 fought alongside him. He无毛视频檚 also pieced together more of Straitiff无毛视频檚 history from his cousins, including a story about D-Day, when Straitiff landed in Ravenoville, a Normandy village near Utah Beach.
As the battle in the town was dying down, Straitiff was one of the soldiers tasked with kicking in doors to clear buildings.
Entering one, Straitiff heard a noise off to his side.
He pointed his rifle in the direction of the noise, then lowered it.
In the corner, he saw a group of women and children cowering, scared from the battle outside.
无毛视频淗e said that was the only time he was scared of the war 无毛视频� not what would happen to him, but what would happen to them,无毛视频� Hickle said.
At the dedication of the memorial, Hickle was told, a woman who lived in town told a story of sheltering in a home where a soldier had lowered his rifle once he saw them 无毛视频� though Hickle can无毛视频檛 be sure it was the same one.
Straitiff无毛视频檚 legacy endures in other ways. When Hickle was in basic training at Fort Sill, an Army post in Oklahoma, they would recite a cadence called 无毛视频淒own By the River.无毛视频�
The words (无毛视频淲e took a little walk/Ran into the enemy/Had a little talk/We didn无毛视频檛 like their attitude无毛视频�) supposedly drew inspiration from what Straitiff did to the Nazi soldier.
After the war, Straitiff moved to Claymont, Del., with his wife, Nevada, who无毛视频檇 served in the Women无毛视频檚 Army Corps. He got a job at a manufacturing plant. Straitiff would remain in Delaware until his death in 1999, when he was 77.
Hickle celebrates what Straitiff and the others of the 101st accomplished during the war.
And even if Straitiff and his fellow servicemen were circumspect about their accomplishments, they still took pride in them, Hickle said.
Straitiff无毛视频檚 grave lists his status as an Army sergeant during World War II, his Bronze Star 无毛视频� and his place in Company A, 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne.
无毛视频淭hey were proud of what they did,无毛视频� Hickle said. 无毛视频淭hey didn无毛视频檛 want to be in combat, but they knew they had to in order to protect everyone.无毛视频�