THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9407120005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Joseph Lombardy Jr. reminded us that those who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II should be honored as well as those in the European Theater (letter, June 11).
He mentioned Wake Island, Midway and Okinawa. What about the Marianas, Guam, Tinian, Rota and Saipan? On June 15, 1944, nine days after the Normandy landings, 77,500 troops invaded the island of Saipan. My father, Eldridge T. Pope Sr., was among them. He was in the 27th Infantry Division, Company B, 105th Infantry Battalion.
The men of the Pacific Theater fought as valiantly as those in the European Theater and many gave the supreme sacrifice for our freedom. We should never forget anyone who served in World War II.
My father was among the lucky ones who came back home. He would say some things about the war, but you could tell there were others that were too horrible for him to talk about. He was trapped in a foxhole for two days with no weapon, no food, no water. Those in the foxhole with him had been killed. He said playing possum probably saved his life.
On March 22, 1992, Eldridge T. Pope Sr., passed away. But I know if he were living, he would feel the same as Mr. Lombardy.
VELNA GRIFFIN
Suffolk, June 11, 1994 by CNB