God's Umbrella

God's Umbrella: Southwest New Mexico World War II Survivors In the words of these men and women who served in World War II or were otherwise impacted by the war, God's Umbrella recounts the tragic, humorous and other memorable parts of their service during wartime. Humorous, you ask? Most of these veterans were in their late teens or early 20s when they volunteered or were drafted into service. They played pranks, which created levity in lives that they perhaps could not otherwise have tolerated. Some of those interviewed teared up with memories or would not talk about the painful parts, but they shared their words with the local readers of the newspaper, where they were first published. Now, readers from other parts of the country and world will have an opportunity to read what 81 survivors of World War II told about their experiences. The photos, from their service days and when interviewed, provide a small sliver of history from the four counties of the southwestern-most corner of New Mexico. This book recognizes the sacrifices veterans and their families have made in service to country to preserve our freedoms. May we never forget their selfless actions.

God's Umbrella: Southwest New Mexico World War II Survivors In the words of these men and women who served in World War II or were otherwise impacted by the war, God's Umbrella recounts the tragic, humorous and other memorable parts of their service during wartime. Humorous, you ask? Most of these veterans were in their late teens or early 20s when they volunteered or were drafted into service. They played pranks, which created levity in lives that they perhaps could not otherwise have tolerated. Some of those interviewed teared up with memories or would not talk about the painful parts, but they shared their words with the local readers of the newspaper, where they were first published. Who were these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and those preparing to serve their country? Most were men, but several women are included in this book, telling their wartime memories of service as nurses or, in one case, as a young girl growing up in Poland and helping raise her two younger siblings after the Germans took their parents away. Some of the men end up as POWs and related the horrors of their existence, usually through tears; some would not talk about their days as a POW. They were all survivors. Some were natives of southwest New Mexico and returned home after the war. Other veterans moved to the region after the war but called it home at the time of the interviews, which were held in the early to late-2000s, with a few in 2018 when the book was in progress. Now, readers from other parts of the country and world will have an opportunity to read what 81 survivors of World War II had to say about their experiences. The photos, from their service days and when interviewed, provide a small sliver of history from the four counties of the southwestern-most corner of New Mexico. This book recognizes the sacrifices veterans and their families have made in service to country to preserve our freedoms. May we never forget their selfless actions.

Mary Alice Murphy The author/compiler of this collection of interviews reports the local news in Silver City and Grant County, New Mexico, as the founder and editor of http://www.grantcountybeat.com. A proud American, the daughter of a man who served in World War I and World War II, Mary Alice supports veterans and appreciates their service and hearing their stories. She was raised in far south Texas and has lived with her husband and their two daughters in Indonesia and Turkey, as well as time spent in Laramie, Wyoming; Denver, Colorado; and near Houston, Texas. As a child, when her parents and her uncle and aunt got together for dinner or a visit, the women usually headed to the kitchen. Not Mary Alice. She preferred sitting near where the men were talking about their war experiences. This was the late 1940s and early 1950s, so the men's memories remained fresh, perhaps too fresh. Oh, if only she could have somehow recorded their conversations or even remembered more than just bits and pieces of them. This book is an ode to their service, for my dad—Joseph Francis Baingo, to whom this book is dedicated—and my uncle—Thomas Gambrell Edwards, M.D. Thank you for your service. Rest in Peace.