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David Mitchell
A different kind of Veteran - of whom there were millions.
As in every war, many Americans did a different kind of service - they stayed behind to support those who went off to active duty. One of whom comes to mind.
In 1943, a young dad was drafted - at age 32 - with a wife and two baby girls, and a full-time medical practice (with his one-armed older brother). He was sent off to become a flight surgeon in the old Army Air Corps. He trained with the B-29 crews in Salina, Kansas, then travelled with them to a base in Karaghpur(?), India. They were then relocated to somewhere near the ancient city of Chengtu in Sichuan province, southwestern China. Finally they relocated to the island of Tinian in the Marianas.
Then one day a colonel from Columbus, Ohio, showed up (with his whole new squadron of B-29s) and flew a plane named after his mother ("Enola Gay") and soon after dropped the first Atomic Bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Not long after the young doctor returned to Columbus where his wife had managed life with just the two little girls. She went through very difficult times without his presence - like soooo many others who stayed behind.
Then in 1968, She (and her husband) attended their only son's graduation from Army Rotary-Wing flight school in Savannah, and soon after watched him depart for full-time duty. She suffered a great deal of anxiety like so many thousands of wives, mothers and daughters, while he was away for over two years, including eighteen challenging months in Southeast Asia (yes, Asia again - enough allready).
He returned home for one emotional 30 days and then left her again for another six months at his temporary "home" on the Mekong River.
If that were not enough, her husband (age 59 or 60) had decided to go off and serve a short (6 or 8 week) AMA Voluntary Medical tour in Vietnam and she went through a double absence while that passed. If this were not enough, her husband returned to Viet Nam for a second AMA Volunteer tour. And after her son finally returned for good, her husband decided to plan a third AMA medical trip but their son stepped in and made him give up the idea.
He (I) could see what all this was doing to my mother. It forced me to realize how much she had already suffered. I beleive her sacrifice - and many others like her had been every bit as great as those of us who served on active duty.
She is my Veteran's Day hero.
1943 - Captain Mitchell, wife Dorothy, and their girls
1968 - Mom, me, and Dad - Flight School Graduation - Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah
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