It was just another day in November 1944 when 12-year-old Wilma Hathaway rode home on the school bus in Hinesburg, Vermont. Just another day, that is, until the driver shared with the children what he'd heard through the grapevine: Pvt. Alwin A. Hathaway-Wilma's older brother-was missing and presumed killed in action in Germany.
Every eye on the bus swept toward Wilma, whose face turned rigid with shock. When the bus reached her stop, she leaped out and ran into her house, where she saw the horror of affirmation in her mother's face; Lola Hathaway had received a telegram from the United States Army. Wilma dropped her books and ran out the back door into the woods.
As Wilma Hallock, nee Hathaway, recounted this long-ago memory from her daughter Starlene Poulin's home in Williston, Vermont, where she lives, the 90-year-old widow did the same thing she had done 78 years earlier: She shook with sobs.
Hallock describes her brother as "something of a daredevil" who had a tendency to "get into mischief."
"He was so tall. He used to walk me to school and taught me how to throw a fastball-which came in handy when I got mad," she recalls. "Alwin was a good brother."
Alwin was drafted in February 1942, "as soon as he turned 18," Hallock says. "My parents didn't want Hitler taking over-but they didn't want to give up their son, either."
Mother and daughter agreed that Pvt. Hathaway looked smart in his uniform, and Hallock says he had a serious girlfriend he met in England whom he intended to marry and bring home. But he never came home.
The wages of war are paid in blood, tears and body bags. Loved ones in their prime, once bursting with bravado, are sent home in flag-draped coffins. But what happens when Johnny is not marching home because he can't be found? When, as in the case of Pvt. Hathaway, he's presumed dead, but there is no body?
Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de Reader's Digest US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de Reader's Digest US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
GOTCHA!
We asked for it: What's the best prank you ever pulled?
KITT THE COURAGEOUS K-9
Officer Bill Cushing needed a partner. His dog needed a purpose. Together, they rescued each other.
Let's Dance!
It's good for your body, soul and even your brain
DISASTER ON THE RIVER
Two canoeists struggle to keep themselves and their friendship-afloat
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE STUFF WE RETURN
Think your rejects go back on the shelves? Think again.
Words to Live By
Poems offered me an anchor as I lost my son, so I shared them
LOST, FOUND, HOMEWARD BOUND
A collection of heart-thumping, tail-wagging, zoomies-inducing pet reunion tales
Paging Dr. AI
IF YOU'VE EVER Googled symptoms (and who hasn't?), you've probably scared yourself with a dire diagnosis, with no doctor there to vet the source and put the information in context. But we can't help ourselves. So can AI help?
The HEALTHY WELLNESS FROM THEHEALTHY.COM
A vaccine is finally on the way. In the meantime, here's how to protect yourself from ticks.
How to Speak Like a Midwesterner
FROM THE BOOK A GUIDE TO MIDWESTERN CONVERSATION