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Show IB I 1 Thursday, November 5, THE GREEN SHEET 1987 ffw 8 1? jWar Takes Its Toll On Triplets Inseparable As Boys jj 5 by LaRee Pennon Greta Sheet Staff Writer j WEST VALLEY. It was a cold, inowy and blustery day when Willard, William and Willis Jensen entered this world on March 14, 1920. Although Willis was the last to be born, he always loomed large In the jEninds of his brothers. ) The triplets were part of a family of nine children born to Hyrum A. and Ann Jensen in Huntsville, and in their youth their uniqueness earned them a blessing at birth by David 0. McKay, (who was then a member of the LDS Quorum of Twelve Apostles) and a ride in a parade with Warren G. Parding, President of the United States. From the time they were small boys the trio were inseperable. They played together, learned together, worked together and sang together. They even served an LDS mission together and entered World War II at the same time. But somehow, in spite of their being identical in appearance, it was Willis who caught the fancy of those who met the boys, with his great sense of humor and his outgoing personality. : When the boys left high school they spent most of their time helping out on the family farm in Marion, just north of Kamas. In off seasons they spent their time in the woods cutting timber and lumber which they sold to the people in that area. As a result of their diligent effort Ihey purchased a small sawmill, an Idea that was born in the mind of Willis, and because of his encourage i ment they earned several hundred dollars to be used to finance their missions. Although the boys had registered for the draft a few weeks prior to their mission call, they were released by the draft board to become the first triplets to represent the church in the mission field. After leaving the mission home in Salt Lake, the trio headed for El Paso, Texas, where Willard and Willis were sent to south Texas and William was assigned to the El Paso District. This was the first time the triplets had been seperated for any length of time. There was no contact with William except through the mail for the next year and a half. About a week before Christmas in 1943, William was transfered to Llano, N.M., where he found to his delight that his new companion was his brother Willis. Willis was drafted into the service Sept. 8, 1944, and inducted the same day as his two brothers at Fort Douglas. After a couple of weeks Willis was sent to Camp Roberts on a special train, and some time later when he was assigned as the Second Platoon Sgt. of Company B, First Battalion, 78th Infantry training regiment, he found that the Second Corporal was his brother William. In the meantime, Willard was sent to Camp Roberts in a different unit, and when it was known that there was a set of triplets in camp they received a lot of special recognition. As he was in civilian life, Willis was well liked by everyone he came i l., 1 f . n in contact with and did a fine job as platoon leader. After two weeks of bivouac they received orders to turn in all their equipment and get ready to leave for the war zone. The trip across the Atlantic was far from pleasant for William and Willis, who were aboard the L'le of De France, a liner that carried 11,000 troops and a 2,000 man crew. Willard was sent to the Pacific Theater of War. They arived at Glasgow, Scotland eight days after they had left Boston, and immediately they were put aboard a troop train going to South Hampton. Two days later they were boarding a small ship to cross the English Channel, and the worst storm in 40 years kept them from disembarking. The water was so rough that no one could get on the ship either. Four days later they disembarked at LaHarve, France, and walked several miles into a wooded area. "We boarded 40 and eight cars there," William said, "Which was a term coined during the First World War when 40 men and eight horses fit into the cars. The weather was cold, near 30 degrees below zero and it was impossible to keep warm." "The next stop was at Toole where we were issued ammo and zeroed in our rifles," he continued, And we were instructed not to mix coffee grounds with the other garbage because the French children were there waiting with gallon cans to collect garbage for their suppers." As they approached Metz, they saw how some of the villages had been totally destroyed, while others were so badly dealt with it had been necessary to bulldoze the road through the rubble in order to have the truck get to the other side of town. It was here where they were also issued their live ammunition because anything might happen, and from Metz they were also assigned to the units on the front lines. The night that they arrived at the required area, Willis asked the sergeant to let William stay with him. Later they learned that the L Company to which William had been originally assigned and been captured by the Germans. William and Willis were permitted to be "fox hole buddies" almost all of the time from then on. They dug in mud and bailed water with their helmets to keep from getting soaked. According to William, all through their ordeal Willis offered inspiration and sustenance to all the men in the platoon, often saving another soldier's life when he was called upon to do so. They received their first mail from home on their 25th birthday and two days later Willis was dead. r : Na' lb r x' ft FAMILY COUNSELING II you art xperiencing difficulties communication within your family or in your relationships, phono Family Counseling, 417-- 1 lot for appointment. Family Counseling has served our community in a commendable fashion for more than 30 years. For a free tape on self esteem for your child, send self addressed stamped envelope to Family Counseling, 2225 So. S0 East, Salt Lake City, UT I41M. Evening apare available. pointments m ROOF CONVERSIONS Hi j e vv " If William said, "I got to have his company as long as possible and enjoyed it very much. Whenever we were off the front lines we always sang duets to the other soldiers before they settled down for the night, and after he was gone I sang every song I could remember to help assuage the grief. "Singing is a kind of relaxation and relief from stress for me," he added, "I think that in creating the animals and humans God gave man the ability to remember, and by that power we keep these things in our mind, to be recalled again and again. So even though those who have passed on are not with us in the flesh they are still with us in spirit. "To me, death is like going home," he concluded. "Because there are just as many people on that side of the veil waiting for you as there are here. And although Willard and I don't see each other very often anymore, Willis is still just as bright and beautiful in our memories as he was when we played together, learned together, worked together and loved together." "We crossed the Mozell River that evening near midnight," William said. "We hiked several miles before setting up camp in a wooded area. About 7 a.m. on the 16th day of March we went to the aid of another company, and then to take a little village near the woods. "The Germans were waiting for us and we got several volleys of 12 mm mortar fire. As we were going over a small hill, several of the fellows had stopped. Willis stopped just long enough to tell them to get going because stopping was the wrong thing to do." Seconds later more shells were fired and Willis was hit. The other soldiers ran on, but William was the first to reach his. mortally wounded brother. Cradeling him in his arms he administered to him as an elder of the LDS church, but he was soon driven from the site by machine gun fire. In the confusion, William had lost his rifle and helmet, so he took his brother's rifle and continued to run himself. That afternoon the medics told William that Willis seemed to be resting easy, but he had bled to death before he could be moved. The morning of the 18th, William went through his brother's personal belongings, and was surprised to find that in his pack where his LDS garments were, not one had a hole in them ... yet everything else had been shattered. Willis was buried at Luxem-bourgGermany, a long way from home. Three months later William visited the grave to dedicate it to God in the custom of the Mormon faith. "I always look at it this way," ' -- 1 e OFTEN COSTS LITHE MORE THAN RETARDING YOUR PRESENT ROOF FINANCING AVAILABLE NO S YEARS TO PAY MONEY DOWN EXAMPLE: 1000 SO. ROOF ' (OR $73 PER MO.) UNIQUE . . . Triplets Jensen were born. were a rarity when Willard, William and Willis SOLDIERS . . . Willard, William and Willis, from left, all went off to flghtWorldWar.il. CURBED CEtMH r?rnnfn unJUIaJ I TOSSING 1400 Rent Two Movies Receive Third Movie of Equal Value . WEST 9000 SOUTH VISITS POD tfftTMiCottpM Mir Uwassktr JCti f OX OtOSSKG 565-967- S 6 end W$ So. 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