by Cliff Ball
Chapter 4
Charles Atwood was looking forward to finally getting home. The last six months his Division spent in Europe after the war, mopping up and keeping the peace, was wearing on him; mentally, physically, and even spiritually. His dreams tended to be nightmares, mostly from what he had seen at Buchenwald, and he wondered if they would ever stop. He hadn’t seen his family or his girlfriend in more than two years, but had written them as often as he could. Returning to the States on the Queen Mary was interesting, since everyone went to the War on board the cruise ship because it had been converted into a troop transport during the War. He heard that the Queen Mary would be converted back into a cruise ship after the Army released it from duty, which might be fun for others, but he would never leave the United States again if he had anything to do with it.
The ship approached the dock in New York, where Charles could hear bands playing and what sounded like a huge crowd waiting for their loved ones to return. The crowd must be cold, Charles thought, this being January and near freezing. But, I’m glad they’re here. He had no idea if his family was waiting for him, and if they weren’t, he hoped he could surprise them at home. His first priority was getting off of this ship as fast as he could; it was kind of claustrophobic with over ten thousand soldiers on board, and he hated being crowded. The noise level increased around him as his fellow soldiers excitedly told each other their plans and what they would do once they returned home.
Charles was concentrating on searching through the crowd below on the dock, looking for his loved ones, when Pastor David tapped him on the shoulder, startling Charles. “Hi, Charles,”
“Uh, oh hi, Pastor. What’s up?”
“Not much, just ready to get off of this tub. What about you?”
“Me too. What are you going to do when you get home?”
“I’m going to sleep for a week!”
“That sounds like a great idea. Is Laura meeting you here?”
“Yep. I managed to get a call to her right before we left. To say that she was excited would be an understatement. Unfortunately, our conversation didn’t last long enough, since we only had a couple of minutes, but I told her what I needed her to know. She’s somewhere down there in that swarm of a crowd, but I’m sure I’ll find her with no problem at all. Is your family meeting you?”
Charles shrugged his shoulders, “Don’t know. If they are, that would be wonderful. If they’re not, I can surprise them at home. You know what’ll be the first thing I’ll do when I see my girl?”
“Nope. Tell me,”
“First, I’ll give her a big kiss, then I’ll get on one knee, and ask her to marry me. The only problem is, I don’t have a ring,”
“I don’t think you should worry about that, Betty doesn’t seem like a girl who would much care about having a ring right away.” David replied.
“Yeah, I know. It would be nice to have a ring though.”
David patted him on the back and the two waited for the ship to complete the docking procedures so they could get off of the Queen Mary with everyone else.
When the ship came to a complete stop, the loudspeakers for the ship blared to life, and the commanding officer began to speak, “Men, welcome home. Starting from the second you step off of this ship, all of you have two days to visit with your families. In two days, I want to see this Division at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey so we can deactivate the Division and let all of you return to civilian life. That is all. Have a great visit with your families.”
The soldiers filed off of the ship in a semi-orderly manner, getting swamped by the crowd as they stepped off of the gangplank. There were guys grabbing their girlfriends, giving them big, sweep-her-off-her-feet kisses, similar to the famous picture taken of the sailor and the nurse who had done that in Times Square.
David found his wife and told Charles he’d see him later, while Charles continued to look for his family or even his girlfriend. Considering they lived over six hundred miles away, in Jonesville, at the western edge of Virginia, he thought they might not be able to afford the trip. He wasn’t sure what he would do then, since it would be over a day’s drive to Jonesville, and because of that, he couldn’t leave New York because the deactivation ceremony would be two days from now. After about fifteen minutes of searching, Charles decided to call for a cab.
Before he could do that, he heard a familiar feminine voice from behind him call his name, “Charles! Charles Atwood!”
Charles whirled around to see Betty running towards him, her fiery red hair coming undone from the bun she usually styled it in, and her porcelain colored Scots-Irish skin becoming red from being in the sun, even though it was winter. She was a sight to behold as she ran into his arms, and without thinking, he did what hundreds of other men did when coming home from war and seeing their girlfriend or wife for the first time in a long time: he gave her a sweep-her-off-her-feet kiss. If there had been any photographers around, they might have taken their picture. Under normal circumstances, Betty, his parents, and her parents probably would have felt scandalized, but these were not normal times.
A little over a minute later, Charles heard a throat clearing, and looked over to see who it was. His parents, her parents, and both sets of siblings were standing off to the side, either looking amused or shocked by the display these two were putting on. Somewhat embarrassed by the fact that he didn’t think about anyone else being there while he was kissing his girl, he put Betty back on her feet. She was blushing, and he said to everyone, “I’m home!”
“Welcome back, son.” replied his father, James. Then his family and Betty’s family all gave him hugs.
“How much time do you have before you have to report back for deactivation?” asked his mom.
“They gave us two days, and then we have to report to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey,”
“Great! We can tour New York City and spend time with you,” replied his dad.
“You can afford to stay here? As in New York City?” asked an astonished Charles.
“You bet we can, since the Bowen’s and us pooled our resources and saved up a lot of money so we could spend a week here with you, just so you wouldn’t have to drive six hundred miles back this direction from home,”
“Thanks, Dad. I would like to do something else while everyone’s gathered.” Charles went down on one knee in front of Betty, whose green eyes went wide, and he asked, “Betty, I know I don’t have a ring yet, but, will you marry me?”
Charles’ mother and Betty’s mother put their hands to their mouths, and started tearing up. Betty, still wide-eyed, began to nod her head yes, and then finally spoke, “Yes, yes, of course I’ll marry you!” Charles got back up to his feet and the two embraced, while everyone congratulated them.
As they were about to get into the two cars, James said, “Before we go anywhere else, I think we should have prayer.”
Everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads, and he began, “Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for bringing Charles back to us, safe and sound. We want to thank you for bringing an end to this terrible war. Please direct our leaders in the way they should go and help them to lead our country in your name. Thank you for being our Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
For the next two days, the Atwood’s and Bowen’s toured New York City with Charles. They visited such sites as the Statue of Liberty, saw Times Square, and had a picnic in Central Park. Charles and Betty visited the various jewelry stores, including Tiffany’s, even though it was far outside their price range, but they had fun going in and checking out all of the jewelry and other merchandise. With all the pay that Charles had saved up, since he didn’t spend much of it in Europe, he bought Betty an engagement ring with a diamond in it from a far cheaper jewelry store, which he would’ve considered really expensive before the War. Once Charles placed the ring on Betty’s finger, they decided on a wedding date, four months from that day.
Two days later, both families drove to Camp Kilmer to watch the deactiv
ation ceremony of the 80th Division. Charles was in full dress uniform. At the Camp, thousands of family members of other soldiers were sitting in the bleachers to watch the ceremony. A short time later, the soldiers came onto the field in formation and based on what unit they were assigned to.
Over the loud speakers, someone began talking, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s deactivation ceremony. I will be your narrator. We are happy that you could attend and we hope you enjoy it. The ceremony will begin shortly. Thank you.”
The Command Staff of the 80th proceeded to the Reviewing Stand, where they stood at parade rest. After the Command Staff were introduced, the audience was then told, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand for the invocation and then remain standing for the playing of our national anthem.”
After the invocation and the playing of The Star Spangled Banner, the Division’s band began to play in the background, while the Command Staff began their review of the troops. The narrator described the reasons for the six Distinguished Unit Citations the Division received, rattled off the names of the four Medal of Honor recipients, the thirty-four who received the Distinguished Service Cross, and the one who received a Distinguished Service Medal. The narrator also mentioned that seven hundred and seventy-one of the men received a Silver Star for their gallantry in action against the Germans in Europe.
The narrator then went into the history of the 80th Division: “The 80th Division was activated in September of 1917 for action during World War I. They were nicknamed the Blue Ridge Division, because it was composed of draftees from Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The 80th's motto is: The 80th only moves forward. During the First World War, the 80th participated in major battles, such as the First Battle of the Somme, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. Once the War ended, the 80th was inactivated May, 1919.
“The 80th was activated, this time July, 1942. The 80th campaigned throughout Northern France, the Rhineland, and elsewhere in Central Europe. They also were some of the first to see the horrors of the Concentration Camps, specifically Buchenwald. In total, the 80th saw two hundred and eighty-nine days of combat and even captured two hundred thousand enemy prisoners. Today, January 5, 1946, we witness the deactivation of the 80th. We honor them for their service and we are grateful for the role they played in defeating Germany.”
While the colors of the Division were displayed, the General in charge stood up, went to the podium, and then read the inactivation orders. When he was finished, the narrator asked the audience to stand for the Benediction, the songs that the 80th used, and finally, everyone was invited to sing the Army’s official song. Afterward, the colors left the field and then the Division commanders saluted each other.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this completes our ceremony. You are welcome to attend a reception that is located in the field behind us. Thank you.”
Once Charles found the family, they attended the reception. As they were mingling, Pastor David and his wife walked up to Charles and Betty to say hi. After they greeted each other, Charles said, “We have news. Betty and I are engaged!”
“Great news. When do you plan on getting married?” asked David, while Laura hugged Betty and the two of them began talking excitedly, while Charles and Brian continued talking.
“In four months. I was wondering if you’d marry us?”
“I would love to. Once we’re settled back into civilian life, we can discuss this in a little more detail. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy the reception.”
After spending more than two years at war, Charles had a difficult time adjusting back to civilian life, mostly because he had gotten used to sleeping through loud, raging battles, and there were lots of reasons to constantly watch ones back so the enemy couldn’t kill you out of the blue. But, with prayer from Betty and their families, he began to change back into a civilian.
The wedding plans were going swimmingly, while Charles found a house to buy surrounded by a couple of acres of land, since the two of them wanted to do a little bit of farming for a while, mostly to see if they could be successful at it.
The day of the wedding arrived on a cloudless, April day at Victory Baptist in Jonesville. Charles had his best black suit on, his best man was his brother, and Betty’s sisters were her bridesmaids. Charles got into position at the front of the church, nervous with excitement, with Pastor David waiting to marry the two. The wedding march began, which was played on the church piano by Laura.
Betty came into the sanctuary accompanied by her father. She was in the white wedding dress that was handed down to her by her mother, and Charles saw only her. He did hear some of the women in the audience crying, including both mothers, but he knew those were happy tears. Her father handed her off to Charles, who took her hand, and even though he really couldn’t see her face because of the veil, he knew she was smiling ear to ear, and was probably shedding a few tears.
They turned to David, who began: “We are gathered here today, on this happy and joyous occasion, to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is a solemn institution to be held in honor by all, it is the cornerstone of the family and of the community. It requires of those who undertake it a complete and unreserved giving of one's self. It is not to be entered into lightly, as marriage is a sincere and mutual commitment to love one another. This commitment symbolizes the intimate sharing of two lives and still enhances the individuality of each of you,
“Will you, Charles Atwood, have Betty Bowen to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort and keep her, forsake all others, and remain true to her as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,”
“Will you, Betty Bowen, have Charles Atwood to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort and keep him, forsake all others, and remain true to him as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,”
“Then repeat after me: I, Charles Atwood, take thee Betty Bowen, to be my wife, and before God and these witnesses, I promise to be a faithful and true husband,”
Charles repeated the words, and David spoke to Betty the same, and she repeated the words. “Charles, will you put the ring on her finger, and then repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed. In sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, ‘til death do us part,”
Charles repeated the words to Betty. Then Betty was given the ring she was to slip onto Charles’ finger, and then she repeated the words that David told her to say. Once that was done, David said, “In accordance with the laws in the sovereign state of Virginia and of God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Charles, you can now kiss the bride.”
Charles lifted the veil off of Betty’s face; the two embraced and kissed each other for the first time as man and wife. When they broke apart, David said, “The Reception is being held outside, so join me in celebrating their marriage.”
Two hours later, Charles and Betty decided they needed to leave for their honeymoon. Charles was asked where they were going as they headed for the car, “We’re going to Virginia Beach for two weeks and then we’ll be back.”
As they approached the car, rice was thrown at them. Not until then did Betty remember to throw the bouquet. She tossed it over her head, not facing the crowd of single women behind her, and the bouquet ended up in the hands of Betty’s best friend, Molly. Molly’s face beamed as she held the bouquet. She was already planning her wedding and would be married in a few more months.
Betty and Charles got into their car, which had various noisemakers attached to bumper, and drove off towards their honeymoon for their first time together.
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