Recently, one of our few remaining heroes of World War II, George Kesselring, passed away. I had known George for the last 14 years. I had received a card with best wishes for the New Year the day before he died.
George was an avid writer of letters to the editor. Not complaining letters, but expressing his opinion on various subjects. I had enjoyed one of his letters that appeared in the Arkansas Democrat, and called him to tell him so. That was the beginning of our friendship. After that, we talked on the phone frequently and met for coffee occasionally in Van Buren.
George had been based in England during WWII. From there, he had flown many bombing raids over Germany, and had some hair-raising stories about some of those missions where he had barely made it back to England. He had a good sense of humor, and he had a mortal contempt for what Hitler had done to Germany and other countries.
He had a teaching career after the war and was an accomplished historian.
After his wife died, George moved to Oklahoma to be nearer his children. He was in his 90s when he died.
I am sorry to say George had experienced much dismay with the chaos and lack of patriotism going on in our country the past few months. He made the comment that our country was following in the pattern that led to Nazism. "The destruction being wrought by ignorant, misguidedpeople in our own country is not what thousands of us fought and died for in World War II. Another Hitler could destroy us from within. I see nothing but devastation in our future, and I worry about the futures of our grandchildren."
I wish the future had looked brighter at the end of George's life.
-- Louis Houston is a resident of Siloam Springs. His book "The Grape-Toned Studebaker" is available locally and from Amazon.com. Send any questions or comments to [email protected] or call 524-6926. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Community on 02/28/2017