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Published on: 11/7/2007
Last Visited: 11/16/2007
Denny Wiesgerber
It was May, 1952 when 22-year old, Denny Wiesgerber, a Marine Corps Staff Sergeant was ordered to go to Korea where he remained for 101 days.Wiesgerber had been in the service for two years serving as a tactical instructor who trained new recruits to go to war.He left for the war leaving behind his wife who delivered their first child the night before he left.Denny recalls being asked on the day he left if he would like to go back to see his 12-hour old baby girl."It would have been more difficult to leave after spending time with her.I left without seeing her and saw her only at Oak Knoll Naval hospital in Oakland after returning from war," he says.
He manned the front line "Jamestown Line" in "Outpost Wars," which Chinese forces overran on October 2-3 1952.Wiesgerber was assigned to seize the outpost, and while bringing back one of his wounded men, he was severely injured.Remembering his days of war he says, "I use to write multiple letters to my wife in one day and number them with followings dates so she kept on getting letters even after I was injured."
Wiesgerber remained in service until 1953 when he retired after 8 months in the hospital. He went to school and for 10 years and made artificial limbs; Wiesgerber finally retired from State Farm Insurance companies in 1995.Reflecting on his days of war, Wiesgerber feels the problem in all wars is similar; it is difficult to differentiate between good and bad guys, and every soldier has a fraction of second to decide whether he or his enemy will survive.
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As we continue another year of combat in Iraq which Wiesgerber describes as "a high speed and constantly changing situation," like all modern day wars, we should learn from experiences of these living emblems of our past, as beneath a visage of valiant heroes are real people with human feelings and sensitivity.
Veteran's Day will be observed on Sunday, November 11, 2007.
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