Pam Dudding
Special to The New Castle Record
On Thursday, June 6, the Bedford War Memorial held its annual event, this year being the 80th anniversary, they had several speakers and World War I and World War II Veterans were given great honor, respect and recognition.
Jay Johnson, a young man of 83 from the Bedford area, shared that he served four years in the Air Force in special forces during the turbulent war.
When asked what he did in the service, he solemnly said, “I got to have a lot of fun. I was on the travel team that worked on nuclear weapons.”
Johnson was a Nuclear Weapons Technician.
He shared that he felt his brother was “real special as he was with a General in the upper command post with forward headquarters”.
He explained that they were unable to get to the land, so they had to watch the whole invasion.
“They saw a lot of stuff that went wrong,” Johnson added.
Another gentleman listening to his story added, “The boats sometimes capsized as they weren’t totally seaworthy.”
“They were still able to get us the stuff we needed, like rifles, swords and flags. They told the troops to not pick anything up as it could be a booby-trap,” Johnson explained.
Johnson’s brother passed away three years ago at the age of 96.
“He was from Minnesota, and he never did get to make it to see this place he would have loved it.” Johnson said.
“I had to go to Okinawa, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan; I was all over,” Johnson continued with his story. “I was also in special services as I went to marine special service. That war was tough… I mean real tough.”
“Many of us wonder why we got to come home when our comrades did not,” some asked. “But God is gracious, and I am grateful I got to come back home to my family. But I still have to be here every year to honor my comrades and others who did not, and those who did come home with injuries. Nobody really wins in a war; sometimes they are necessary though to keep peace.”
Others surrounded Johnson asking to shake his hand and extended their gratitude for his service and to take a picture.
It was so easy to see that he was a man of humble appreciation and great sadness within his heart, having to see so many of his own friends die that day.
Photos by Pam Dudding
