‘They have made possible the life we now have'

Memorial Day more than just a three-day weekend for many, By Linda Smith Hancharick Warwick — “I can still graphically see their faces,” said Ed Klein, a World War II veteran. “Anybody who has been in combat never forgets it. It was living with the dead.” This Memorial Day, Klein and other veterans will remember their colleagues in a special way, a way those of us who haven’t served probably don’t quite grasp. Sure, most Americans are grateful to the men and women who fought for freedom and the way of life we have, and are indebted to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. But to the people who were there, Memorial Day “is the most sacred day of the year,” said Klein, who served in the infantry. Scott Webber served 730 days in the Army during the Korean Conflict. To him, Memorial Day should be respected more than he thinks it actually is. “Memorial Day is a day to remember that freedom has to be purchased every so often,” said Webber. “The payment is made in blood. It is a day of gratitude.” But Webber fears the meaning is lost on many, even though this country has been at war for several years. “I’m sorry to see that Memorial Day has become so commercial,” said Webber. “We should go out to the cemetery and pay our respects.” Klein was just 19 when he was drafted. He landed on the beaches of North Africa, then Italy and South France and into Germany. It was a tough existence for anyone, but especially for the kids who received little training and were shipped out to save the world from the Nazis. “I spent all of my three years overseas after basic training,” said Klein. “It was a dangerous life. You just tried to survive. You knew any day could be your last.” He tells the story of one of his buddies who went out to replace a telephone line. The rest of the guys told him to wait until dark, but he didn’t. He said they would need to use it before darkness. The young man was killed. What people don’t remember, said Klein, is that there was a pretty big peace movement in the United States at the time. “It was Lindbergh and Ford who worked to keep the country neutral” until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, said Klein. The country quickly united behind the war effort. Webber was a kid in Queens during World War II. He remembers how everyone pitched in to help the war effort. “No refrigerators were made. No tires. Everything went toward the war,” Webber said. “I remember being a kid and being afraid we were going to be bombed like England and Pearl Harbor were.” When he was drafted by the Army after the hostilities of the Korean Conflict, Webber said there were always fears — that exist to this day — that the fighting would start up again. Korea remains a hotbed in the world. Both Klein and Webber are proud of their service to their country. For Klein, it shaped his life. “The first thing I learned was that you had a choice,” said Klein. “If you are being attacked, you can sit in your fox hole and wait for them to come for you and then sit and shoot, or you can jump out and try to get them.” For Klein, he has attacked life, having started several very successful businesses. He is a former owner of The Warwick Advertiser, founder of WTBQ radio in Florida and a cable television business in Warwick. “It’s the same in business,” he said. “You have to be tough.” On Monday, Klein will be at Warwick’s Memorial Day parade. “I’ll go to the parade and cry when I think of the old days,” he said. Webber, a respected historical writer and journalist, wants people to remember this weekend that their way of life didn’t come easily. “Let us remember that they have made possible the life we now have,” said Webber. “People tried to take our way of life away from us. It would be a different world had we not fought.”