Dear friends:

As Adolf Hitler was rampaging across Europe in 1941, and war seemed inevitable, many young people went ahead and joined the military to get the training they were sure they would eventually need.  That included my 33-year-old father, James D. Bramlett, Sr.

They sent him to Ft. Jackson, SC, a famous and sprawling training base.  My mother and I visited him there.  I was age 10.  He expected to be discharged after his one-year training.

Then suddenly -- Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, just days before his discharge.  The world changed.

He was assigned to the 30th Infantry Division (Andrew Jackson's famous "Old Hickory" division), 117th Infantry Regiment.  He trained further at Ft Jackson and other bases until finally shipped to England in early 1944 to stage for the invasion of France.  In June 1944 he landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy, and was in combat throughout Europe until Hitler was finally defeated.

As far as I know, he never got a scratch, by the grace of God.  It was a miracle.

I thank God for my father and I honor him on this Memorial Day today for his service to our country in helping rid the world of evil Nazism.

I also honor his brother (my uncle) C.B. Bramlett, who also joined the Army right after December 7, 1941.  He became an aircraft mechanic on B-24 bombers and was a Crew Chief in the first Air Corps unit in North Africa, serving mostly in the desert through our conquest there and then on into Italy.

These were members of what journalist Tom Brokaw called the "The Greatest Generation."  Their service and sacrifice were truly great.  I am retired military, but I cannot hold a candle to what they did.

Jim
Lt. Colonel. USAF (Ret)