Putting pen to paper, I'm never sure exactly how it will turn out - what response the piece will generate. But I wasn't left hanging back in January of 2024 when I ran a recap (Part 4) of World War II, entitled "The Brothers." The favorable reception was likely owed to the magnitude of the matter.
In that particular column early last year, a tribute to local bands of brothers, I featured the three Bahm brothers, the sons of Clifton Kip and Velma Miller Bahm of Sunny Hill - James "Mikey" Bahm, Clifford Bahm, and Wade Bahm - all of whom served in World War II.
And there were the five Jones brothers, the sons of Henry H. and Lenora Sharp Jones of Enon and later Bonner Creek - Alfred A. Jones, Kelly Jones, Shelby O. Jones, Huey P. Jones, and Louis Jones all served our country in World War II. In addition, there were four more Jones brothers, the sons of Ernest and Alma Magee Jones of Enon and then Bogalusa - James Coleman "Jimmy" Jones, Woodrow Jones, Delos Jones, and Jacob Paul Jones were in the service during World War II.
And last, but not least, there were the four James brothers, the sons of Otis and Erah Brock James of Franklinton - Clyde James, Alton James, Malcolm James, and Leroy James, who served in World War II.
Since the publication in January of 2024, I learned from devoted daughter Sue Corkern Graham of another pair of local brothers - Olan Jessie "Buck" Corkern (husband of Freddie Jenkins Corkern, Buck was Sue Graham and Carol Morgan's father, who lived from 1917 to 1977) and Doyle Monroe Corkern (1924-1999) - who served in World War II. They were the sons of James Monroe Corkern and wife Leah Olivia Fisher Corkern. Sue and her sister Carol June are longtime family friends.
While my column didn't do this legion of World War II heroes justice, it at a minimum illuminated their heroic service and the faith their folks had. Alluding in my conclusion to the Sullivan brothers, from Iowa, I commented that all five of them perished in the South Pacific during World War II. This horrific loss came with the sinking of the USS Juneau (CL-52).
My editor and publisher Steve Kuperstock, who served in the Army, explained to me the significance. The monumental loss of the five Sullivan brothers helped lead to the military rules pertaining to brothers who are sole survivors. I was unaware that the Sullivan brothers were serving together, at their own request. But it was after their demise, and that of others, that the military policy affecting brothers serving together was established. Research revealed that it is known as the Sole Survivor Policy.
Detouring to Hollywood, many of us recall the Academy award winning movie "Saving Private Ryan," directed by Steven Spielberg, that came to the big screen in the summer of 1998. My memory of the film is vivid as it opened with a battle on Omaha Beach where my father had landed his Piper Cub, leading a squadron of planes across the English Channel, not long after D-Day.
The movie's plot, which took place in France, involved the search for and saving of Private James Francis Ryan, a World War II soldier with the 101st Airborne Division. He was heroically located, after an intense, dangerous search mission, and sent home after it was thought that his brothers had been killed.
Interestingly, as Steve pointed out, the soldier on whose life the film was loosely based - Sgt. Frederick Niland (1920-1983) with the 501st Parachute Infantry of the 101st Airborne - was never lost. The U. S. Army knew his exact location, and he was promptly removed from combat once his brothers - Robert (1919-1944), Preston (1915-1944), and Edward were thought to be killed in action.
But for the sake of the movie, Ryan had to be hard to find. Notably and thankfully, as it turned out, Technical Sgt. Edward Niland (1912-1984), one of the four Niland brothers from the state of New York, had survived as a Prisoner of War in Burma. Sadly, Robert and Preston perished on June 6, 1944, and June 7, 1944, respectively, at Normandy and are buried next to one another there in Colleville-sur-Mer at the American Military Cemetery. My husband Rodney and I were there, at the cemetery and on the beaches of Normandy, two years ago --- a poignant experience in memory of my dear dad, the late Col. (ret) Cecil Ellzey who served as a liaison pilot for the field artillery with the 28th Field Artillery Battalion, 8th Infantry Division. Dad had returned there several times in the autumn of life and wished, providing for, the same for me.
Back to the Sole Survivor Policy, as Steve informed it has evolved over the years. By the time he served in the Army in the 1970's, it had been expanded to include women. But when initially put in place in 1948, as part of the Military Selective Service Act, it exempted from the draft the sole surviving son of a family who had suffered the loss of one or more sons or daughters during or from military service. However, from what I discerned, the sole surviving son could volunteer for the military. And there are many additional military nuances, above my pay grade, added after the policy's origin.
But as part of this project, I learned that there were many brothers, in addition to the Sullivans and Nilands, who were killed during World War II. There were the Butehorn brothers - Joseph, Henry, and Charles - of New York. After Charles and Joseph were killed in action in 1944 and 1945, respectively, the War Department ordered Henry to return home. And there were the Borgstrom brothers - Clyde, Rolon, Rulon, and Elmer - of Utah. Rulon and Rolon were twins. All four were killed in 1944 serving in World War II. Accordingly, their parents managed to get their son Boyd released from military service. Their son Elton who was not yet of military age was exempt.
The demise of the brothers during World War II led to the Sole Survivor Policy from 1948 forward --- a sage decision.
