This was posted on the Yahoo site "Chicks Guide to BoB" by Josee. Great article!


http://tinyurl.com/zs2af

Humble Hero
Wednesday, June 28, 2006

By HEATHER KAYS
HERALD NEWS

After nearly 60 years of silence, World War II Army veteran Jack McGrath has finally made peace with his military past.

"I never went to any of the reunions and I never kept in touch with anybody after the war," said the 86-year-old borough resident, who was drafted at 21 and saw combat in Europe with Easy Company, part of the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

The dedicated family man, a father of two adult sons and grandfather of one, still works part time as the fire prevention chief at Borough Hall. McGrath has been married to his wife, Irene, for 58 years and drove a tractor-trailer for 30 years. He just never seemed to have enough time for reunions with war buddies.
"My family always came first," he said.

But sometimes notoriety chooses you, whether you like it or not.

Nevertheless, McGrath said he dislikes being portrayed as a war hero and grows weary of the attention he received after being unexpectedly depicted in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" in 2001.

"I am not a hero," McGrath insists humbly. "We were a group. We knew what the hell we were supposed to do, and we did it. There's nothing heroic about that."

After years of remaining quiet, McGrath finally opened up when recognized publicly for saving his comrades by blasting a German tank with a bazooka – and helping to keep the enemy from breaking through the hedgerows on his company's left flank.

It was a critical moment in a fierce battle in June, 1944, on the outskirts of Carentan , France, part of the massive Allied Normandy invasion.

"I got caught up in all this 'Band of Brothers' stuff," McGrath said, adding that he now has grown to enjoy speaking about the war, especially with children following his unsolicited celebrity. "Once it was on TV and the books came out, there was no escaping it."

McGrath, an Army private, is featured on page 100 of Stephen E. Ambrose's book "Band of Brothers," on which the cable TV miniseries is based.

The docudrama tells the story of the real GIs who fought on D-Day on Utah Beach in Normandy as a part of the well-known Easy Company that scored victories in Germany during World War II.

Then earlier this year, McGrath was mentioned in "Beyond a Band of Brothers" written by Maj. Dick Winters, his old commanding officer. The tome not only gives Winters' poignant combat accounts and memoirs from the war, but also shares many "untold" stories of the men he served with, including McGrath.

Along with everyone else, Mayor Richard Mola, a longtime friend of McGrath's, only learned of his World War II achievements after the miniseries aired on HBO.

"He's a walking, talking history book, and I had no idea what he had done," Mola said. "After all these years, he never once mentioned it to me."

"Lieutenant, you're going to get me killed," was what McGrath kept repeating and that was exactly how it was written in the book and filmed in the series, thanks to Winters providing the screenwriters with background information at the World War II reunions he attended.

"The only reason I got that silver medal, bronze medal with a cluster and all those other citations is because I was a bazooka man and I knocked out a tank that was shooting at us," McGrath said. "We shot back at it and were lucky enough to hit it and knock it out. That gave the rest of the boys enough time to get in on 'em."
More than luck, the D-Day invasion is described in both books as a pivotal moment of World War II.

"That's the way that entire generation was," Mola said of McGrath's refusal to talk about his combat experiences. "They went to war, came home and that was the end of it. They never talked about it, never bragged about it."

But once the World War II secret got out, Mola decided to help McGrath find his long lost friend.
Mola sent a short letter asking Winters to contact McGrath.

A few weeks later, McGrath was shocked to receive a letter from his former commanding officer.
"I remember you very well," Winters wrote in the letter to McGrath. "How come I only find out where the heck you have been the last 61 years now?

"I didn't go to the reunions either for many years, but the price of stamps wasn't that high," he continued.
Winters expressed how sad he was that McGrath missed out on all the excitement while "Band of Brothers" was being written and filmed. He talked about his own struggle with Parkinson's disease and promised to stay in touch with his war buddy.

"HBO treated us all royally on all the trips and we had some really good reunions at their expense," Winters wrote in the letter.

McGrath and Winters said they plan to meet and have a reunion sometime in the future.
"I tried to get in touch with him a few times, but it didn't work," McGrath said, referring to Winters, who led Easy Company into combat.

But the 86-year-old Winters said future reunions would not be as exciting as in the past because "the ranks are thinning out and there aren't too many of us left."

Meanwhile, McGrath said he was thrilled to receive the letter from Winters and immediately sat down and wrote a reply.

That was the first time in more than three decades that McGrath had made contact with anyone he served with during the war.

"I had some problems with him back then," McGrath said, with a laugh, recalling how strict a commander Winters had been.

He said the emotional ordeal of war on a soldier is indescribable.

"All I can tell you is, everything that they taught me is the correct way," he said of the strict military training. "No one was any better than anyone else out there. We just did what we were told, and we happened to do it a little better than some of the other boys who were out there."

Terrific find! It's neat to hear how Mr. McGrath's attitude gradually shifted from "who needs this?" to enjoying the interest of his family. Also neat to hear first-person from a man who was so prominent in one pivotal scene, but not mentioned elswhere. Thanks for passing this one on.

That's a great post. Thanks for sharing.
How many veterans must have untold stories? many that will never be told. What an incredible generation.

Tim

Indeed Tim and I am sure that it is sometimes the Untold stories of the horrors of war are those that some veterans undoubtedly want to protect both themselves and us from having to re-live. I really got that picture when I made my approaches towards Mr O'Sullivan (ex vietnam heli pilot, nicknamed lead-butt because he was shot at so much) and my utmost sympathy goes to those individuals that feel that way about the stories that they have stored.

OK I can appreciate that it may be sometimes hard for us unknowing to further appreciate those horrors but while I was in Auschwitz recently a sign outside block 8/9/10 (not sure) had a bold statement that brings this very subject to a head...

"..The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.." George Santayana

Thanks Lisa for bringing this article to us,

Jaf

Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

Great story. I hope he makes the next reunion.

His views are interesting...I read this weekend how Wake Island veterans didn't talk about their ordeal until their grandchildren came up and said, "I just saw 'Saving Private Ryan' and I know you were in that kind of war...but yours was worse. What happened?"

Then they opened up.

Very cool to add another missing piece in all of this. I wish him well.

Thanks for posting this.

A truly wonderful post and so great to here he is still around. A great and good man who has lived a life it think we would all aspire to.

Ade