Published: October 26, 2009 10:33 pm      

Let’s not forget one of our unsung heroes

One of Cumberland’s finest has quietly passed on to his reward. Unfortunately he probably won’t be missed by many because he has outlived most of his contemporaries.

But the passing should not go by without a note of recognition of this uncommon man.

Billy Menges was born here and graduated from Fort Hill in 1943. It was his misfortune to come of age in the middle of the most massive war in history.

Billy immediately joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was shipped off to the west coast to begin basic training. Soon he was on a ship headed to war somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Most of you don’t remember the push our forces made from island to island as we punished the Japanese Imperial Army for bringing us into war. We must never forget the hell these men went through fighting an enemy which held the belief that it was better to die than to surrender.

Billy Menges hit the beach of Iwo Jima with 300 or so of his fellow Marines. After 34 days of bloody fighting both day and night, fourteen of them were able to walk off!

Like other brave men of World War II Billy said that he was “too dumb and too young to be afraid; we were just doing what we were trained to do.”

After the war Billy came home, graduated from college, was married and worked at ABL. But once a Marine, he was always a Marine!

He was in the Marine Corps Reserve when he was called back to active duty during the Korean conflict and participated in another landing at Inchon.

Billy spent a total of 41 years serving his country including a stint as commander at McKaig’s Hill.

Billy was an avid history buff and had an amazing memory. I once asked him what ever happened to Thomas Jefferson’s wife.

Some 60 miles down the road, as he presented the most interesting facts about Jefferson’s affairs, he finally answered the original question.

As a registered guide at Gettysburg National Park he held the rapt attention of my 12-year-old teenage niece listening to his description of the fights on that battlefield.

He was an avid bowler, taught a youth league class for 38 years and wrote a column for this newspaper about bowling.

The list of Billy’s accomplishments is too long to list here. He was not a common man.

No, unfortunately not many will note the passing of Billy Menges. Many people today ware born after Pearl Harbor and don’t realize the contribution of these brave men. They fought wars on faraway lands, came home and built this country for the rest of us to enjoy.

So let us salute the passing of another of those unsung heros of the “Greatest Generation.” Semper Fi!

Jerry Goodwin

LaVale