When Johnny Came Marching Home

One day I will always remember is Memorial Day 1946.

On that day, when I was only five years old, I saw veterans of World War Two march proudly down nearby Oak Park Avenue in my hometown, Berwyn, Illinois (just west of Chicago), with veterans of World War One and even a handful from the Spanish-American War. It was a long parade, and it seemed our entire suburb of nearly 60,000 people turned out for it. I knew some of the World War Two veterans, neighbors of mine and friends of our family. That was the day when Johnny came marching home.

In 1950, many of these veterans were called back into the service to fight in Korea. Americans did not want another war, so the Truman Administration called it a "police action" instead. The Korean War was a prelude to what would later happen in Vietnam.

My generation fought in Vietnam, an unpopular war many still question to this day. Some 58,000 Americans died during the Vietnam War, including men from my hometown and from Cicero and Stickney, which are adjacent to Berwyn. Most of these men had attended my high school, J. Sterling Morton.

On April 28, 1985, the Chicago Sun-Times published a list of Illinois residents who were killed in Vietnam. When I saw the names of those from Berwyn, Cicero and Stickney, tears came to my eyes.

The first name on the list, Cpl. Norman William Bartels, was two years younger than I. He lived only a block from us. His sister, Carol, was my age. Norman was quiet and shy. In the summers, we played softball in the two empty lots across the street from their home, and Norman always joined us. Nearby was the Berwyn water tower, surrounded by bushes and shrubs, where we often played war, fighting imaginary battles against the Germans or Japanese or the North Koreans.

Norman later fought real battles against the Viet Cong. He was 26 years old when he died on Oct. 25, 1968. May he rest in peace.

On this Memorial Day weekend, please remember all of those who fought and gave their lives during the Vietnam and Korean wars, as well as those who served during World War Two, World War One, the Spanish-American War, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Revolutionary War and other conflicts.

Pray for the wounded and the dead, friend or foe.

Pray for the millions of innocent civilians who suffered and perished during these wars.

May they all rest in peace.

And pray for all of our troops and those of our allies now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keep them safe.

May this war end soon. May our troops and those of our allies return home soon.

And say a special prayer for Norman.

May Johnny come marching home....

George Spink
Memorial Day 2006