November 1, 2017 The Julian News 7
A Daughter's
• TribUte
By Adele Delgmto
771is account of Adele's father has
been seen in this column before. It
is a touching account of a daughter
who will never forget her father
and cherishes the service he made
for his nation. As Veteran's Day
approaches, it is my hope that as
our "Greatest Generation" passes
on, that we never forget the sacrifice
they made for us.
Among my family photo albums
filled with picnics, baby pictures
and various family members is
something more mesmerizing
and terrifying. There are
photos of bodies, men, women,
and children, and bombed out
buildings. They are the pictures
of war. These were the memories
my father documented in photos
and a basis for the stories he
told of his experience in WWlI. I
beard the stories over and over
as I grew up, some told with
bravado, some riddled with grief.
My father, Howard Splrz, was
born in 1916, the fifth of eight
children. He grew up iq the rural
St. Louis area. During the
depression his father lost his job
and father's aspiration for college
was dashed. He dug ditches for
a living outside the school to
which he had aspired. He then
joined the Civilian Conservation
Corps, part of Roosevelt's New
Deal to promote employment
and update infrastructure of the
country. He earned $30.00 a
month with a mandatory $25.00
to be sent home to support the
family.
Life in the CCC was difficult
and physically arduous but it
may have paved the way for him
to be more hardened for what lie
ahead.
After the CCC he came to
California, worked as a roofer
and earned enough to buy a
home. When WWll broke out
he and his younger brother Irvin
both enlisted and were assigned
to the
101st airborne. During a
training jump he dislocated his
shoulder so badly that he was
reassigned to the 297th battalion,
combat engineers, 7th army.
After. training he went to
England and waited with so
many others for D day. His
brother Irvin was also in England
but were out of contact despite
the efforts of my mother, who
wrote through the Red Cross in
an effort to reunite my father and
uncle. It never happened and
they never saw each other again.
On D-Day my father went
across the channel by ship. He
landed on Utah Beach near St.
Mere Eglise. His experience was
very much like the first fifteen
minutes of Saving Private Ryan.
He told me of the horror, the
bullets coming into the landing
craft, men sinking in the water
with all the gear that they had on,
scrambling for the beach under
fire and crawling over bodies
of the fallen, can barely watch
those fifteen minutes of the
movie, let alone imagine how it
was for my father as his terror
went on and on.
Once they made it to the
beach and up to the fields they
encountered hedgerows that
bordered the fields and impeded
vision. In the mass confusion
they employed toy 'metal clickers
make food for the trees.
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colors in the fall and, finally, float to the ground? Read
all of these statements carefully. Then decide the
order in which they happen. Number them 1 to 5.
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When all the chlorophyll is drained from the leaf.
the tree drops the leaf to the ground.
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oranges and reds that you see in the fall.
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Solution Page 12
called crickets to find and identify
each other.
In the next few days as they
were making their way forward
another soldier saw my dad's
name on his jacket, Spirz. It's not
a common German name so it
stood out and he called to him.
He told my dad that he was with
his brother when he was killed.
Irvin's legs had been blown off
and he was begging for someone
to shoot him and let him go. He
died the day after D-day.
Dad wrote to my mother, and
though he couldn't say that Irvin
had been killed he asked that she
stay close to his morn and that
there would be a "dead German
for every drop of Irvin's blood."
He never thought about making
it all the way through the war, it
was just something that had to be
done. He was driven by his loss
and the need to make sense of
what he needed to do.
Being older when the war
started may have helped him
cope with what he saw. He wasn't
a young high schooler, but in hi8
late 20's. He had experienced
hard work and hardship, yet rm
sure nothing really prepared him
for war.
From St. Mere Eglise they
pushed on to Cherbourg and
then eastward toward Germany
through Mortain, Mayenne, and
Chartres, always on the front
lines. Some time off was had in
Paris after its liberation and then
on again. Up towards Belgium
they marched, through Mons and
Liege.
Next was Aachen and the
battle of the Bulge. Extremely
cold weather and hilly terrain
hindered operations there. I know
that many historians say that
the Germans break-out was a
surprise but my Dad always said
that it was a weak spot by design
and a trap for the Germans. I
asked how he knew and he said
the officers told them.
Dad spoke of "standing on the
heads of dead soldiers." I asked
what he meant and he said they
stood in the same trenches as
soldiers in WWl and helmets and
bones were still there.
Surviving the Bulge, they
moved on. Cologne was next
These were the pictures that
held the most fascination for me.
Horrible, unfathomable atrocities
were committed there. Women
and children were among the
bodies there..Some looked like
continued on page 8
of Famer Mike Piazza play for
during his 16-year major-league
career? Which ones?
3. In 2016, Drew Brees of the
New Orleans Saints set a team
record for longest touchdown
pass (98 yards). Who had held
the mark?
4. Tommy Amaker became
wherepictureshe took pictures of the ~"m~ the winningest coach in Harvardseason).
shattered buildings with one men's 'basketball history in
Cathedral standing intact. He 2016 (193 entering the 2017-
took from the church =ill 18 Who had been the
tower of the ruined city below. = w \ Crimson coach with the most
AS engineers, everywhere there II IIz victories?
was a waterway they either blew I~11 5. When was the last time
up bridges, rebuilt them later or before 2017 that Sweden
rebuilt bridges the Germans had won the ice Hockey World
destroyed. They inflated and Championships?
linked pontoons and corduroyed 6. Which of the three
them with wood to create heavyweight boxing titles (WBA,
temporary passage for troops
and vehicles.
As they marched across
Germany they came to
Nordhausen, one of the most
infamous concentration camps.
1. Who was the last Kansas
City Royals player before Eric
Hosmer and Salvador Perez in
2016 to hit a home run in the All-
Star Game?
2. How many teams did Hall
WBC, IBF) did Lennox Lewis not
win more than once?
7. Who was the fastest bowler
(by number of events) to reach $1
million in career earnings?
Answers on page 12
