05/29/2021
HANDS OF HOSPICE
As I turn into the driveway, I find LC awaiting my arrival near the entrance. For months, the two of us had been trying to schedule a meet-up, so I was excited to finally meet this local hero that I’d heard so much about. As we head to his patio for our talk, he whistles joyfully. It’s amazing that a man who has lived through some of the bloodiest battles in the history of the United States still has music left in his heart.
Born in Atlanta in 1926, LC was an only child. His father was a farmer who served in the Army during WW1. “Dad could tell some stories from his time in the war,” he recalls. “I remember him telling me how he could make his horse lay down during battle and the horse would let dad shoot from his belly.” LC’s mom was a homemaker who was quite the skilled cook, especially when it came to her famous meat loaf. “Dad was a great cook as well,” he says. “In fact, every Sunday relatives would come over and we’d all eat.” In 1929, the family lost everything during the stock market crash, so money was lean for the small family. Around the same time, LC developed polio. By the age of nine, young LC—who had recovered by then--was pulling his wagon delivering groceries to help make ends meet. When he wasn’t delivering, he worked as a chicken plucker.
After graduating high school in 1944, LC enlisted in the Navy. His first stop was basic training at the naval base in Baltimore, Maryland, then on to Providence, Rhode Island, where he made quick enemies with his drill instructor. As LC recalls, “We never hit it off and he’d give me latrine duty. I hated his guts, but to be fair, he had been through a lot. He had served in the Battle of Guadalcanal so there’s no telling what he suffered through.” Soon, LC joined the Seabees. After stops at gunner school on Paris Island, then California, he boarded the USS Matsonia to Pearl Harbor where he was issued his winter clothing, then finally to Maui for invasion training.
On the morning of February 15, 1945, attached to Fourth Amphibious Marine Division, LC and his 31st Naval Construction Battalion invaded the island Iwo Jima, a Japanese stronghold. “First impression—I was scared to death,” LC recalls. “I had heard very little about our mission, and I had never heard of Iwo Jima. It was very early morning and I remember seeing Mount Suribachi in the foreground as we belly-crawled our way onto the island. That was our destination, Mount Suribachi. My battalion was in charge of clearing out the mountain’s many caves of the multitude of Japanese soldiers, then building a road around it.” After what seemed like an eternity, LC finally found a foxhole to momentarily shield himself from the constant Japanese enemy fire. As he entered the already-occupied foxhole, he asked his fellow US serviceman if he’d mind sharing his space. “I didn’t hear anything after I asked,” LC says. “I soon realized that the poor guy had been killed. I was terrified of dead people, but there was no time to be scared. I had a job to do.” After nearly a mile of crawling through an onslaught of constant enemy fire, he safely made it to his destination. Sporting a 12-gage pump shotgun, he entered Mount Suribachi where the teenage LC was to shoot anyone he encountered. He closes his eyes as he explains: “I certainly didn’t want to have to shoot anyone. I probably threw up four to five times a day from the stress. But after a while, I got somewhat used to it, I guess. I slept when and where I could, and always with one eye open. We finally made it to the top of the mountain after about four days.” LC was among those present when the US flag was raised in victory on top of the mountain. In fact, he was standing 20 feet away as the now famous photo was taken. The Battle of Iwo Jima became one of the bloodiest battles of WWII, with thousands of US servicemen losing their lives. The Japanese lost three times as many as the United States.
While the fighting may have eased up a bit for LC and his crew, there would be no rest for the weary. After working on Iwo’s aircraft landing strips for a while, LC and his crew were pulled off the island for their next destination. Much like the invasion of Iwo Jima, this next invasion would be highly dangerous and would certainly have its share of casualties. So on the morning of Easter Sunday, April 1,1945, LC and the Second Marine Division stormed into Okinawa. It wasn’t long after that he noticed that a Japanese sniper who was perched high in a palm tree had his gun pointing straight at LC. “Oh, I was terrified. I thought that I was gone for sure,” he states. LC started rolling wildly and screaming to others that there was a sniper aiming straight for him. However, the sniper never shot. When the servicemen got to the palm tree, they found that the Japanese soldier had already been killed. LC cut the sniper down from the tree and took his bayonet and 25-calibre rifle. While in Okinawa, LC acted as gunner’s mate and took turns on sniper patrol. A few months later, just as his unit was entering Japan for an invasion on the mainland, Japan surrendered, finally putting an end to WWII. For his bravery, LC earned three battle stars. He was ready to come back home.
Upon his return to Georgia, LC attended college at Alabama Polytechnical Institute (now Auburn University) and earned a degree in Industrial Management. When the Korean War came around, LC once again answered his country’s call for servicemen, and like his time in WWII, danger would lurk closely like a shadow. He recalls the time in Korea that his helicopter was shot down by the Chinese. “Once my helicopter was hit, it crashed in the middle of a rice paddy field. In case you didn’t know, those fields used human f***s as fertilizer. I was covered in human waste from head to toe. I managed to escape without being found. I’d sleep in the daytime underneath houses and would move at night. I was finally rescued and was sent home on a hospital ship for a broken nose, broken ribs, and broken bones all over.”
Once home, LC would hold numerous jobs over the years. He worked at Atlantic Sheet Metal Corporation for a while before joining the Lockheed Company for 50 years, selling airplanes, parts, and a services all over the world. Finally, onto Kellstrom Industries and various job afterwards before retiring for good about ten years ago. Although his external war wounds have healed, the wounds on the inside have taken a little longer. There have been countless nights where the memories of combat replay in his head over and over like a movie, stealing any chance for a restful sleep. But thankfully, those nights don’t occur very often anymore. He’s thankful for the full life that he’s lived and is grateful for the love of his wife, five kids, and “umpteen hundred” grandkids.
As our interview ends, LC asks to show me something. He comes back holding the same 25-calibre sniper rifle and bayonet that he brought back from Okinawa 76 years ago. His parting words to me are to always remember that there’s no one better than you, but also, that you’re no better than anyone else. That very well may be true, but I know few people better than my new friend, the hero, LC.
