Shrapnel in his chest
The large man lay in his nursing home bed while I moved him about. As an orderly, I was hired because the home needed a man to work with the heavier patients.
“I fought in the Battle of the Marne,” the man said. “I’ve still got shrapnel in my chest.”
Hmm… sure, I thought. Wasn’t this battle fought in World War I, I mused to myself? Seems like too long ago to be true. Well, I guess a patient in a nursing home might say just about anything. This is where people with dementia live, I figured.
But in fact, the man was correct. One of the nurses told me that yes, this patient fought in the Battle of the Marne. This man would have to be at least 75 years old at that time if he fought in the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918, when U.S. troops helped French and British soldiers push back the last major German offensive within 45 miles of Paris.
I didn’t talk any more with this patient, and I wish I had. The man’s casual words weren’t the distracted musings of an Alzheimer’s patient. When he talked to me there was a hint of pride in his voice – something I did not appreciate at the time. I was only 20 then, and the Vietnam War had just ended. With the culture of the day there was little appreciation of the bravery of our soldiers who risked their lives fighting evil empires.
Storming through the bullets
The Battle of the Marne in France was a key victory more than one hundred years ago that turned the tide of the war in favor of the Allies and lead to the eventual defeat of the Germans. One particular fight was that of Belleau Wood, in which the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments beat back four German divisions which were well dug in.
Was my patient one of those Marines? Did he storm through the wheat field there under heavy machine gun fire and face the enemy that was well equipped with modern artillery, trench mortars, heavy machine guns, and poison gas?
Maybe he served under Sgt. Major Daniel Joseph Daly, who was awarded a Navy Cross for his leadership. Did my patient help earn the Marines at Belleau Woods the name Devil Dogs, a moniker given them by the Germans and which the Marines use today?
At Belleau Wood, the Marines had gone up against the most professional fighting force in the world and the best divisions of the German army—and won.
I learned about the heroism of these U.S. forces in this battle only years later. Sometimes history stands before us unawares. We might be turning an old man over to prevent bed sores, but might also be helping an old warrior survive sacrifices that remain hidden from the eyes of today.