Picture: Eugene with a young author who will write and illustrate his story for the next genereation.
I have been thinking about Eugene the past couple of days. In fact, I put a picture I had taken with him as my profile pic on Facebook. He is a "typical" older gentleman from Iowa but he is a hometown hero his work during WWII. He was one of the vets honored at the music festival a few weeks ago. He was tickled pink to get a hero medal from a Jewish survivor. I thought his wife was going to bust her buttons - she was so proud of him.
It's men like Eugene who have keep our country free. He was willing to give it all for us ... still is, I think. If his 94 year old bones would move a little better, I could see him giving those terrorist what for. I am so honored to call him my friend. God bless Eugene and all the others out there like him!
Here is his story:
As a young man, Eugene Parmer lived in Bettendorf, Iowa. Just before he joined the military he moved 40 miles north to the quiet town of Maquoketa, Iowa.
He joined the 92nd Signal Battalion who furnished communications for the United States Army. While serving in Europe during WWII, Eugene was ordered to join American soldiers liberating a concentration camp called Dachau. He was to investigate the camp's communication equipment and report to his officer.
When he arrived at Dachau, Eugene didn't want to park his weapons carrier at the main gate so he drove around the side of the camp. There he located railroad tracks with parked coal cars leading out of the camp.
Parmer's curiosity got the best of him so he climbed up the ladder. There was no coal in the cars. Eugene was not prepared for what he witnessed. Shock hit him hard. The train cars carried human bodies. Then he looked in the second car and there were more. It made him physically sick.
Eugene then approached the gate and shot the lock off with his revolver. Immediately, a prisoner who spoke English yelled don't open the gate. This man told other prisoners to stay back but then disappeared. The prisoners didn't listen and came towards Eugene. They began to mob him and he fell to the ground. The American soldier assumed they were after his rifle. But the prisoners did not want his rifle. They did not want to harm him. All they wanted was American flags lapel pin which was the Signal Corps insignia. All they wanted were the flags.
The English speaking prisoner quickly returned with something to secure the gate. He wanted that gate shut! Eugene removed his flag pin and gave it to the man. The others backed away. The frightened soldier was relieved.
“Do you have some spare time?” asked the prisoner, “Follow me.”
As they walked passed buildings, Eugene saw more death. The horrors of this war were everywhere. Then the prisoner suggested Eugene get his rifle ready. What was going to happen?
They uncovered a German guard who hid when the camp was liberated. It wasn't safe for the guard to be surrounded by angry prisoners. There was another guard hiding in a 55 gallon container used to store human waste. When they tipped it over, the guard fell out. His life was also in danger. The German guards had been cruel. Now the prisoners wanted revenge.
Eugene needed to stay focused and asked the English speaking prisoner to show him the signal equipment and he did. Finally, his simple yet dangerous mission was accomplished. The young soldier returned to his regular duty.
Those horrible memories of war stayed with Eugene his whole life. Years later at an event recognizing veterans, Eugene listened to a grateful Holocaust survivor speak to the audience. While she spoke about her memories, Eugene felt sick all over again - just like he felt during his time at Dachau.
Eugene returned to and lives today in historical Maquoketa. When Eugene is asked what message he'd like to say to children, he replies:
“Children should see pictures and realize what can happen if we lost our freedom. I have no words to express my feelings towards these people. If I hadn't seen it, I don't know if I'd believe it. It happened.”
He joined the 92nd Signal Battalion who furnished communications for the United States Army. While serving in Europe during WWII, Eugene was ordered to join American soldiers liberating a concentration camp called Dachau. He was to investigate the camp's communication equipment and report to his officer.
When he arrived at Dachau, Eugene didn't want to park his weapons carrier at the main gate so he drove around the side of the camp. There he located railroad tracks with parked coal cars leading out of the camp.
Parmer's curiosity got the best of him so he climbed up the ladder. There was no coal in the cars. Eugene was not prepared for what he witnessed. Shock hit him hard. The train cars carried human bodies. Then he looked in the second car and there were more. It made him physically sick.
Eugene then approached the gate and shot the lock off with his revolver. Immediately, a prisoner who spoke English yelled don't open the gate. This man told other prisoners to stay back but then disappeared. The prisoners didn't listen and came towards Eugene. They began to mob him and he fell to the ground. The American soldier assumed they were after his rifle. But the prisoners did not want his rifle. They did not want to harm him. All they wanted was American flags lapel pin which was the Signal Corps insignia. All they wanted were the flags.
The English speaking prisoner quickly returned with something to secure the gate. He wanted that gate shut! Eugene removed his flag pin and gave it to the man. The others backed away. The frightened soldier was relieved.
“Do you have some spare time?” asked the prisoner, “Follow me.”
As they walked passed buildings, Eugene saw more death. The horrors of this war were everywhere. Then the prisoner suggested Eugene get his rifle ready. What was going to happen?
They uncovered a German guard who hid when the camp was liberated. It wasn't safe for the guard to be surrounded by angry prisoners. There was another guard hiding in a 55 gallon container used to store human waste. When they tipped it over, the guard fell out. His life was also in danger. The German guards had been cruel. Now the prisoners wanted revenge.
Eugene needed to stay focused and asked the English speaking prisoner to show him the signal equipment and he did. Finally, his simple yet dangerous mission was accomplished. The young soldier returned to his regular duty.
Those horrible memories of war stayed with Eugene his whole life. Years later at an event recognizing veterans, Eugene listened to a grateful Holocaust survivor speak to the audience. While she spoke about her memories, Eugene felt sick all over again - just like he felt during his time at Dachau.
Eugene returned to and lives today in historical Maquoketa. When Eugene is asked what message he'd like to say to children, he replies:
“Children should see pictures and realize what can happen if we lost our freedom. I have no words to express my feelings towards these people. If I hadn't seen it, I don't know if I'd believe it. It happened.”
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