World War II veteran thankful even in bleak times

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

It would be easy to say that Pfc. William Hurst didn’t have much to be thankful for as Thanksgiving 1943 approached.

The United States was still mired in the midst of World War II, more than six months away from the Allied invasion of Europe that ultimately turned the tide in that theater.

The war with Japan in the Pacific was even further from its conclusion.

On a personal level, Pfc. Hurst found himself in O’Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Mo., recovering from an injury he had suffered in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Yet the Greencastle native looking around himself and found reasons that he and his country should be thankful.

With this in mind, Hurst composed the following poem on Nov. 19, 1943, six days before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Who art thou, as Americans, to complain,
Of hardships, turmoil or of pain?
When around the world, from shore to shore,
Cites are flattened for-ever more.

Yet here at home there still remains
The unchained gossip and fields of grain.
Our homes are still, as yet, together,
The most common enemy, being the weather.

In most of these American homes
There’s a vacant chair to lower the tones.
Of those, who yet, remain behind
To work and toil for all mankind.

That chair may never be filled again,
By the one who left to fight in vain.
Yet he who left that chair shall never forget,
That it’s freedom that he is fighting for yet.

And so I think at this time of year,
We should all forget the thought of fear
And just be thankful for what we’ve got,
Whether it be our health, or a house and a lot.

Think of those who for many years
Have known no life, except blood and tears.
Our forefathers formed this nation of ours,
That we might stand amongst the powers.

As a nation whose one and only desire
Is to live and let live, and not have to fire,
Upon any nation, regardless of thought or creed,
And still remember the cause for which it was freed.

And now on this our day of Thanksgiving,
We must be thankful that we are living.
In a country that is wanting for all mankind
Nothing but freedom of religion and mind.

After spending 23 months in hospitals around the country, Hurst returned to Putnam County and married Helen (Reasor) Hurst in 1949. Together, they raised two daughters, Carolyn Newton and Beverly Ross, as well as untold numbers of Suffolk sheep.

Bill Hurst died on Aug. 22, 2005 at age 87.

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