When I first thought to write these chapters, it was as a wide-eyed boy again, listening to my father tell stories of heroism, destruction, adventure, honor, and glory. As I read through the memoirs again, I found renewed excitement, but it was accompanied by an adult viewpoint. A bit disappointing, but I realized it was inevitable. As time goes by, we all change. Knowing of human suffering, pestilence, indignities, and calamities in my time, it all became real.
I want to tell my father's war tales to honor his memory and lifetime. Few people have lived a life, fought, and survived a war, then successfully returned to that life. His story has always inspired me. Now I want to pass that on to as many as can appreciate it too.
Melvin Francis Patterson was a part of the "Texas Army," the Thirty-Sixth Division in WWII. He grew up in Texas and joined the Thirty-Sixth in the National Guard before the war. When the time came the division was mobilized and sent to North Africa. From there, they invaded Italy and made a name for themselves by slugging it out against the German Army through the mountainous region in the "heel" of Italy then on through Rome. Not long after the Normandy Invasion, the Thirty-Sixth invaded Southern France; then as the German Army retreated toward Germany, the Thirty-Sixth Division raced around it and closed the trap. Once in Germany, they continued the fight until surrender in 1945.
Most people have heroes. I have always admired the Wright brothers, Charles Lindbergh, and Eddie Rickenbacker. Each blazed a trail and failed consistently. Each rose again and again. Next to the Savior, my father has always been my biggest hero. Follow me here and see if you might find an inspiring story as well.