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Show 4C Veterans, Disabled Lakeside Review, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1981 World War I Soldier Recalls Experiences On Front Battle Line By LYNDIA GRAHAM Review Correspondent LAYTON Weapons become more advanced and travel becomes swifter with each war, but the fear and anxiety that fill a mans body as he becomes the target hasnt changed. Veterans of any war have many recollections of the times and saw duty and places they memories of combat never seem to grow dim. Some of those memories do season with time and can even be laughed at or joked about, but the underlying feelings are never really overcome. Describing his World War I exDarwin Tayperiences, lor told of being shelled in the fields of Belgium. He was about 21 at the time. I was leading two horses down a . small road, he said, and a shell hit about 20 feet in front of me, he said. I wasnt hit but the concussion knocked me and the horses to the ground. He added with a chuckle, I was beginning to think it was the worst w ar 1 had ever been in. Taylor, who lives at 1461 E. Gentile in Layton, served with the 91st Battallion in Belgium and France during that war. He is one of the oldest American Legion members in Layton. He has been a member of the Legion since 1922, 59 years. small town in Idaho in 1896 and he left that little town called Grant Community to serve his country in 1917. He was born in a Taylor told of being moved through the European countryside in railroad cars. Each car was to hold 40 men or four horses. Remembering the cramped and crude mode of travel, he commented, We hadnt gone far before I was wishing I was a horse. In Belgium, Taylors battallion came across Flanders Field a short time after the battle had advanced a little farther into the countryside. For 40 miles you couldnt see a live tree in the whole district. Once in a while you would see a burnt stump; that was all that was left. It was one shell on top of another, he said. Even common duties have been remembered by Taylor, not because of that duty but because of the constant reminder of the possibility of death and the fear that accompanies that knowledge. Four of us were assigned to take some stew to the front of the lines. Stew was good food in those days. We took it in big tanks on four carts pulled by horses or mules, he recalled. We had come to a crossroad and werent sure of which way to go, so the sergeant went on ahead to find the way. The Germans put five shells into the crossroad where we were. One horse was hit and another fell from the concussion. Once cart fell over and all the stew ran in the gutter. The two men with the carts behind me were so scared that they turned around and began to run back down the road. When the sergeant got back, I went to find them. They were so scared that they were both hiding, crouched down in an outdoor toilet. At first they wouldnt come back. A while later the Germans shot a star shell and we could see them coming back up the road, he said. During that war, Taylor said he never questioned whether U.S. troops should have been there or not. We had a job to do, he said, and we had to win or lose. We had to do it. Of course we were all glad when it was over. Even though more than 60 years have passed, the emotions are so strong and the memories so vivid that Taylor cant talk of the ending of World War I without great emotion. Tears filled his eyes and his voice faltered several times as he described the scene wtaen he heard - Both Honored Today On this Veterans LAYTON Day today, when we honor all of Americas war veterans, lets salute the American disabled war veterans as a special part of this International Year of the Disabled Person, said Andy Bellucci, commander of the Layton American Legion. Veterans Day 1981 has a special sljgnificance as it occurs just as the International Year of the Disabled Person draws to a close, be said. Lecture I rifle Darwin Taylor recounts his the oldest veterans is of I. He one of World War experiences in Layton and has held membership in the American Legion for HOLDING a World War 59 years. the news at about 11 one morning. For 18 months all that the people in Belgium had had to eat were potatoes and turnips. There were turnip fields everywhere. The troops would lay in them for camouflage in the battle areas. Someone came running in, blowing a bugle, to our headquarters, and announced that it was over. Men came out of the turnip and eventually he went to work at Hill Air Force Base where he was employed until his retirement in 1961. Taylor has been involved in school, church and community activities while in Layton. He spent three years on the Layton City Council in the fifties. He and his wife have two children, four grandchildren, and five A free lecture will be sponsored by the Utah State Historical Society on Thursday Nov. 12 at noon in room The Silver Kings of will be the subject of a presentation by Richard W. Sadler, Professor on Salt Lake City and the Utah territory. patches like flies. Everyone was screaming and shouting. Taylor has seen America go After a while everyone was through four war periods. He said back in the turnip fields asleep. that another war scares me to There had been so much tension. think about it. We wouldnt last long, he said, They were so relieved and worn out not with weapons like we have that they just disappeared, Taylor said. now. It would depend on who got Over the years, Taylor has not the first lick. lost his feelings of patriotism. He Sometimes it seems that it is a also has enjoyed the reunions of the rich mans war and a poor mans NOW 91st Battallion in Salt Lake City. fight. AVAILABLE I dont think we will be having Perhaps in his own philosophy of IN them anymore, he said. There war the world may have found the 16 TO 38 FOOT arent enough of us left. ultimate answer to the ageless MODELS Taylors activity in the American question of how war can be Legion is also a source of pride to stopped. STEVE'S MARINE If world leaders had to put on a him and his wife Edith. They have 499 S. STATE held leadership positions in the uniform and go to the front, we CLEARFIELD wouldnt have any wars, Taylor Legion and Auxiliary. 6 They moved to , Layton in 1942 said. 30 Sal. 10- -3 5 $10.00 W OFF 41 1 East Gentile Layton, Utah 84041 - 10 Off WINDSHIELD DEDUCTABLES , ON INSURANCE EXPIRES DEC. 31, 1981 825-169- VIDEO SHOPa "YOUR VIDEO SPECIALTY STORE 525 So. State Clearfield, Utah 5800 S. 1900 W. Suite Roy, Utah 776-62- 01 273 W. 500 S. 11 Fashion Village Square B 776-432- 3 Bountiful Phone 292-837- 9 mam srn dis- charge or transfer from a battle ATARI, zone. A 766-412- $10,00 OFF n. service of America. Diaries and journals are full of heroic stories, tales of lives that were saved or injuries that were spared because of the action of a friend or fellow soldier. - That concern and comraderie Andriano Bellucci, commander of the Layton American Legion agreed, and said that the American Legion Post holds the same views about the veterans. We want to help any veteran or veterans family with any problems they might encounter, he said. The womens auxiliaries with both groups stand firmly behind the goals of the parent organizations. One of our main purposes is to see that the vets get a fair shake, said Rachel House, president of the VFW Auxiliary. They put their lives on the line for America and they deserve our help when they need it. Many of the American Legion and VFW members hold dual memberships. There are about 110 American Legion and VFW members in the Layton area and nearly 550 members of the VFW. These do not count the memberships in the auxiliaries. Shirley Carne, first vice president of the American Legion Auxiliary, is typical of many of the dual members. In addition to her American Legion duties she also serves on several committees in the VFW auxiliary. She estimated that around 90 percent of the Lay- - 766-31- - Fri. Mon. 10.00-6:- had a major impact af- 8037. eucalyptus indian corn rice grass packing straw Cntr tury, silver mining ter spending time next to him in In Layton there are two organizations devoted to the veteran and his or her family, places where friends meet, community service is rendered, and projects to further Americanism are undertaken. Membership in both organizations, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, is based on service in the armed forces. Veterans are being honored today on Veterans Day. VFW members must have been in the service during war years and have served in combat zones. American Legion members must have a military background, but not necessarily in combat zones. Both groups feel strongly about the role veterans have played in preserving Americans freedom and feel that as a nation we have a debt to the men and their families who died or were disabled in the armed servioces. The goal of the VFW is to help any comrade in distress in any way we can. We also want to support our youth, our community, and our elderly, said Don Myers, commander of the Layton VFW Post 31 W. of the nineteenth cen- Compassion for a doesnt end with military SPECIALS FALL of History, Weber State College, Ogden. During the last third CoiTMpomiant comes easily s the Utah 303 of Salt Lake City By LYNDIA GRAHAM comrade-in-arm- WO G State Capitol. Veterans7 Groups Help Community LAYTON - sons everywhere, including the disabled veterans. President Beagan declared 1981 the Year of the Disabled Person in the United States and in doing so said Disabled Americans represent one of our most underutilized national resources. The American Legion sponsors . many ' activities throughout the year to help disabled veterans and their families. Society Plans Legion , VFW Rviw The year was so designated to draw attention to the disabled per- Asteroids, Reg. 31.95 . 299S 1 Reg. 149.95 20 . . . ' Missile Command and Morel, Reg. 28.95 2295 r. INTELLIVISION 1 Renta VCR Machine Tonight for . , 49 j69.95-'S2-$2- ' A $1I A ' WViwNk Vpirilitr ' V ) to t to, Treat the Popcorn; Dad ha Easily to a Rom Tonight! DON MYERS, commander of the Layton VFW Post, salutes the flag. ton American Legion members are its canteen services for the first also membersa of the VFW. time. The American Legion was the It was called the Clearfield-Lay-tofirst of the two groups to organize Post. Shortly after Clearfield in Layton. In 1920, regular meet- was removed from the title and it ings were begun. Anyone involved was known as the before that date is considered a Post 8037, named after two outcharter member. standing post leaders. In 1939 a lot was purchased on After a few years, the post was Main Street for $100. It was the site moved to its present location on of an old stagecoach stop and still North Main. displays a Utah Historical Marker Members in the groups are inattesting to that fact. volved with a variety of projects Logs were purchased for about such as the Veterans' Hospital, $300 and the men set out to build the Boys State and Girls State, scholog cabin type building which is larship funds, aid to veterans and still used as the post home. Women their oratorical conhelped by bringing dinners in each tests, dependents, contests and Americanism night to feed the hungry workers. projects, community service proOver the years the building has jects and ceremonies. been used as a meeting place for The most recent project has been several protestant churches, as a the sale of Buddy Poppies by the dance studio and a meeting place VFW members to raise for for family reunions and private disabled veterans. Lastmoney year the parties. group raised $15,000 in the Layton History of the VFW in Layton is area. harder to come by since some of The poppy has been a the records of the past have been symbol to veterans since thespecial battle lost after the death of one of the on Flanders Field in Belgium durpast leaders and a fire which de- ing the first World War. stroyed others. According to Mrs. House, so Most of the available history many bodies lay on that field at comes from the memories of cur- nightfall that they couldnt be rerent members. trieved that night. In the For several years meetings were when the soldiers went tomorning get the held at the old Smith Canning bodies of their fallen friends they found the field covered with blood-re- d Building in Clearfield. According to Gladys Cordova Smith, a past poppies in full bloom. The poppresident, the post py has since symbolized the loss of auxiliary moved to Layton in 1967 and began life and the service that disabled n Miller-Fraiz- er RENTALS veterans have given. The American Legion currently has a display in the Layton Herit- - J age Museum showing guns, un - . iforms, and other memorabilia 4 from the past four wars. A member of the Legion will be at the museum to discuss the displays through this week. . C,HADES-LA- MP As Low As $900 P,r. St VIDEO MAN Night 1981, VIDEO SHOP ZttTTTTTTT7T77TTTZ7TTTTTTTTTTTTT7777 SHADES REPAIRS LAMP TABLE LAMPS FLOOR LAMPS HANGING LAMPS Many to chooso from SHADES ALSO BRING YOUR LAMP IN FOR A CUSTOM FIT LAYAWAY AVAILABLE REPAIR DEP ARTMENT Don't throw away that old lamp 1 1 LMTES i v iRi tilii PAIRS LAMP SHADES I 00 REPAIRS v 0C1 I aaap SHr I I |