A DATE TO REMEMBER – AT 10:38 A.M. ET:  On this date in 1944, Allied troops liberated Rome, the first of the Axis capitals to fall. 

The liberation of Rome is often forgotten because, only two days later, D-Day, Allied troops landed in Normandy, overshadowing Rome.  But the Italian campaign was one of the most bitter of World War II.  Ernie Pyle, the great war correspondent, who was closer to the troops than perhaps any other reporter, wrote some of his best copy during the Italian fighting.  His dispatch, "The Death of Captain Waskow," should be read by every American schoolkid for what it tells us about the bond of men in battle, about leadership, and about the ultimate cost of war:

AT THE FRONT LINES IN ITALY, January 10, 1944 - In this war I have known a lot of officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Capt. Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas.

Capt. Waskow was a company commander in the 36th Division. He had led his company since long before it left the States. He was very young, only in his middle twenties, but he carried in him a sincerity and gentleness that made people want to be guided by him.

"After my own father, he came next," a sergeant told me.

"He always looked after us," a soldier said. "He'd go to bat for us every time."

"I've never knowed him to do anything unfair," another one said.

I was at the foot of the mule trail the night they brought Capt. Waskow's body down. The moon was nearly full at the time, and you could see far up the trail, and even part way across the valley below. Soldiers made shadows in the moonlight as they walked.

Read the rest.  It's here.  You won't regret it. 

There are, undoubtedly, many other Captain Waskows today, but we don't know them, do we?  Today our military is a separate class, kept distant from the elites and chatterers who define our popular culture.  But the Waskows are out there, taking care of their men, and women.  And we will find a way to thank them.

I wish we had another Ernie Pyle today as well, but we don't. 

June 4, 2011