WW II VETERAN, LAWMAN, GENTLEMAN

Even though former Guilford County Sheriff Walter A. “Sticky” Burch and I have attended John Willett’s Bible Study Group together for years, he has always spurned the invite to share his World War II experiences. 

That changed abruptly when shown a February 19, 1943 photo of him leaving Greensboro for aviation cadet training in Miami, Florida.  The photo was provided by Lieutenant Colonel Frank Montgomery, USAF (Retired), who was written about in these pages on June 3, 2017. 

74-YEAR OLD PHOTO RELEASES LIFETIME OF MEMORIES
LT COL FRANK MONTGOMERY USAF (RET) (CENTER KNEELING)
LONGTIME LAWMAN STICKY BURCH (2ND FROM LEFT STANDING)

That photo and the reunion between Montgomery and Burch spawned 74 years of memories -- they flowed much faster than I could write.

Burch has almost 99 years of Greensboro connections, but claims he was born in Asheville.  By accident.  “My mother was visiting there when I was born.”

He attended Asheboro Street and Gillespie Park schools before graduating from Greensboro High School in 1938, where he lettered in wrestling, track and football.  “My father died when I was 15, but Football Coach Bob Jamieson was like a father to me.

It is an urban legend that Coach Jamieson gave me the nickname that stuck with me more than my birth name.  I played end on the football team for three years.  You can be assured, Coach Jamieson was never convinced I could catch footballs like I had ‘sticky’ fingers.  Anyhow, the name stuck.”

Burch was several years older than the typical aviation cadet.  “I went to Presbyterian College on a football scholarship but probably did more in track.  I ran the 100 and 200 yard dash and anchored the 440 relay.  One day, I ran all three events against Clemson.  We won, but that was the toughest day of my life!” 

After one year in college and one year with the Greensboro Police Department, Burch answered the call to serve his country.

“I was a gung-ho aviation cadet in preliminary flight training in Miami.  My next stop was Middle Georgia State College in Cochran, Georgia, then to Nashville, Tennessee for classification.  My first actual flight training was at Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida.

Flying was fun – I loved the PT-17 Stearman we trained in and did very well during take-offs and in-flight, but not so well with landings.  Two out of three wasn’t good enough.  I was shipped out for photo reconnaissance training.    Washing out was especially embarrassing inasmuch as the Stearman had the reputation of almost landing itself!”

Burch vividly recollects, “I cried like a baby after washing out of pilot’s training.”

Even though someone else did the piloting, Burch arrived in the European Theater in time to fly combat photo reconnaissance missions before V-E Day.  “It was just the pilot and me.  We typically flew at about 10,000 feet and photographed potential targets for the next day’s bomb runs.  Our small aircraft had guns but we weren’t sure they worked.  German fighter planes got after us occasionally, but we dodged more mountains than enemy bullets.” 

MONTGOMERY AND BURCH "CATCHING UP" AFTER 74 YEARS
SEVERAL MCDONALD'S CUSTOMERS "CAUGHT UP" WITH THEM

Burch returned to the Greensboro Police Department after the war and retired with 40 years’ service – he was Assistant Chief of Police at the time of his retirement.  Tack on two terms as sheriff for a total of 48 years in law enforcement.

“I was happily retired when asked to run for sheriff.  My wife did not want me to run, and was the happiest girl in town when B. J. Barnes ‘retired me’ the third time I ran.”

Mary Jones Burch passed away in 2011 after 65 years of marriage.  The Burches had twin girls and a son, seven grands, and six great-grandchildren.

He had an answer reminiscent of Secretary of Defense James Mattis when asked if dealing with bad guys for almost half a century upset him, “Not at all, but I upset a few of them.”

Burch remains philosophical about his longevity, “It’s easy to look back over nine decades and see that the good Lord had a plan for me all along – I thank Him every day for how He has blessed me!”

A long-time member of the Congregational United Church of Christ, Burch is a member of the Oriental Shrine Club and the Greensboro Rotary Club.

MONTGOMERY, BURCH & THETFORD ENJOY CRACKER BARREL MOMENT 2017
(BURCH RECOVERING FROM SKIN CANCER SURGERY)

On September 8, 2017, High Point’s Frank Montgomery will be 94.  On October 21, 2017, Greensboro’s Sticky Burch will be 99.  Two fortunate towns to be called home by two American Patriots.

  

JULY 4TH IS FOR CELEBRATING OUR FREEDOM!!

July 4 fell on a Monday in 1955.  Both stores in the Southwest Mississippi crossroads community of Caseyville were open regular hours – sun-up until sun-down.  Although there were no fireworks, locals felt a tinge of patriotism – they were sending one of their own off to serve in the military.

Shortly after his thumb went in the air along the dusty gravel road, a passer-by picked him up for the 15-mile jaunt to the intersection of paved U.S. Highway 51.  Three kindly passers-by, 60 miles, and three hours later, he reached the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

After sleeping on the Reserve Center floor overnight, he was sworn into the Marine Corps and given a one-way train ticket to Yemassee, South Carolina – dropping off point for Parris Island – and all things civilian.

GRADUATION DAY FROM PARRIS ISLAND -- SEPTEMBER, 1955

Stateside postings after Parris Island would include Camp Lejeune, Great Lakes Naval Station, San Diego, Camp Pendleton, El Toro and Cherry Point.

Fast forward to 1959.  July 4 came on a Saturday.  By Friday, the Caseyville boy was all set to leave Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina.  However, after serving four years at the convenience of the government, it appeared he would serve a day at the convenience of the Provost Marshall -- who did not work on Saturdays.

But the Provost had a big heart – those in line for discharge could jump-start civilian life over the weekend.  The Caseyville-bound 1954 pink & crème, two-door Ford hardtop was on Highway 70 in a heartbeat.  Memories have faded, but he probably passed through Greensboro, North Carolina about midnight.

By daybreak, the Ford wasn’t out of gas, but the driver was.  Fortunately, a hitch-hiking Sailor had come aboard.  He had dozed through the mountains and into Tennessee, but was roused up under the pretense of seeing Rock City -- and drive the Ford on to Jackson, Mississippi while the owner dozed.

Just under 1000 miles and 24 hours later -- the Sailor had caught another ride and continued westward – the Caseyville boy was home again.

The journey afforded him more than ample time to reflect on previous July 4 holidays.

July 4, 1956 found him recently promoted from marksmanship instructor to butt NCO at Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia.  I’m glad you asked, it involves a Marine Corps proverb, “Those who fire at targets must also pull targets for other shooters while they fire.” 

Targets are positioned in areas known as butts, strategically placed behind huge earthen mounds.  Shooters prone to fire into those earthen mounds are known as short-timers.  Butts are insufferably hot or cold, never in between.

July 4, 1957 found the Caseyville boy in Tokyo Bay, aboard the troopship, USS General A. E. Anderson.  Over the 18-day journey across the Pacific, the commanding officer of the Anderson was noticeably short on hospitality. 

Probably more from patriotism than kindness, he made a sizeable gesture on July 4, “You are now over the exact spot in Tokyo Bay where the USS Missouri anchored for surrender ceremonies ending World War II.”  Sixty years later, that would have been a selfie-feast!

The Navy did not ask Marines to complete comment cards, but they were impressed to be shown that watery mark of historicity.  In his memoir, the captain probably wrote, “Those Marines actually believed that’s where the Missouri anchored.”

July 4, 1958 found our guy at Atsugi Naval Air Station, a few miles inland from Yokohama and Yokosuka.  In the interim, he had made amphibious landing drills on Okinawa and set up communications centers at three locations in the Philippines.

Aboard the USS Princeton, he had turned from pollywog to shellback by crossing the Equator.  He had participated in a 7^th Fleet show of force off Borneo, Java and Sumatra, made a port call at Singapore, and assisted in flood relief at Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

If there is a bottom line to this piece, it is that the Caseyville boy is blessed and fortunate – he couldn’t have volunteered to serve his country in a more tranquil four years. 

He hasn’t looked at that as a pass to forget other peacetime veterans or those who served during World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars to protect the freedom granted us on July 4, 1776.

That’s a primary reason he enjoys writing veterans articles for the Greensboro News & Record.  Join him in celebrating our nation’s birthday to the fullest on July 4, 2017! 

                  

HIGH POINT AVIATOR HAS NO COMPLAINTS

High Point’s Frank Montgomery must have wondered where he went wrong.  As an Army Air Corps fighter pilot, why was he helping off-load Marines and equipment from a landing craft during the Invasion of Iwo Jima?  And why was a Navy Beachmaster ordering him, “Get these vehicles off the beach?”

MONTGOMERY AS P-51 PILOT FLYING FROM IWO JIMA

Montgomery was a P-51 pilot with two problems – his P-51 was in route from Guam and the Marines were yet to wrest an Iwo Jima runway from the Japanese.  Both problems were solved expediently -- Montgomery would be one and one-half kills short of becoming an Ace by war’s end.

Montgomery took a respite from active duty after the war – built a place at the beach, purchased a family farm in Trinity, enrolled at NCSU, married Cynthia Smith, and built a house for them to live in.

Recalled to active duty during the Korean War, Montgomery trained new flight instructors for the B-25 bomber at Connolly Air Force Base in Waco, Texas.  A series of moves took him to air force bases in Selma, Alabama; Dover, Delaware; Greenville, South Carolina; West Palm Beach, Florida; Iceland, Denver, Colorado; and Amarillo, Texas.

By 1966, Montgomery was flying the C-130 Hercules.  His home base for the next 33 months was Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.  “The C-130 was noisy but versatile – there wasn’t much we couldn’t do.  We ran special operations, supported USAF strike aircraft, dropped personnel, equipment and supplies, and flew many rescue missions.”

MONTGOMERY WAS SILVER STAR RECIPIENT FLYING C-130 HERCULES (LEFT)
DURING VIETNAM WAR -- HAD 3 1/2 KILLS FLYING P-51 DURING WW II

Montgomery’s most vivid memory of Vietnam is May 12, 1968, “That was Mother’s Day.  My family was living on Okinawa at the time, but I could not get over to be with them.  Just as we were returning to base after flying most of the day, we were ordered to proceed to Kham Duc on an extraction mission.

Cork-screwing into the mountainous landing strip, we could tell the Special Forces Camp had been over-run.  We saw smoke, fires, two crashed C-130s and a helicopter along the runway as we went in.  Under heavy small arms and mortar fire, debris and wreckage down the runway -- and no visible survivors to extract -- I turned the aircraft around and prepared for a reverse take-off.

LT COL FRANK MONTGOMERY USAF (RET) SERVED DURING THREE WARS

Suddenly, U.S. Special Forces troops, South Vietnam troops and Vietnamese civilians appeared from all directions and swarmed under our propellers and into the back of our C-130.  I told the loadmaster to push everyone aboard and close the hatch – we were leaving in five minutes.”

For that Mother’s Day mission Lieutenant Colonel Frank Montgomery was awarded a Silver Star.  “When it was all over, we had brought 180 people out, plus two pigs!  The Vietnamese didn’t leave much behind!  I wish that Silver Star could have been cut into five pieces – my crew deserved it just as much as I did!”

After 28 years, eight months, 22 days, and over 20,000 flight hours, Frank Montgomery retired from the Air Force and returned to his High Point roots.  He chronicled his service during three wars and entitled it to fit his persona, “No Complaints -- I flew on the first day and I flew on my last day.”   

As a civilian, he promptly reverted to his propensity to build.  He and his sons formed Montgomery Investments, dealing with residential real estate.  At 93, Montgomery has turned everything over to his family.

Cynthia Montgomery died in 2003 – they had been married 56 years.  From the marriage came four sons, nine grands and four great-grandchildren. 

The Montgomerys were life-long members of First United Methodist Church – High Point.  “My Montgomery grandfather was a charter member of First UMC,” says Frank Montgomery.  “My Cranford grandfather gave five acres of the family farm on which Fairview United Methodist Church was built.”

After Ray Street Elementary and Ferndale Junior High, Montgomery graduated from Central High School.  He ran track for Central and set a state record for the one-half mile run in 1940.

FRANK MONTGOMERY WAS TRACK STAR AT
HIGH POINT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Frank Montgomery and his brother, James, a World War II sailor, were named to the Central High School Hall of Fame in 2016.

An interesting aside, Frank Montgomery’s chronicle of his service includes a photo of him and six others who left for the Army Air Corps on February 19, 1943.  One of the “others” is former Guilford County Sheriff Sticky Burch.  Burch had never seen the photo.  When shown the 74-year old photo, he exclaimed, “That was a London Fog I was wearing!”

19FEB1943: CANDIDATES LEAVING GREENSBORO FOR AVIATION CADET TRAINING AT MIAMI, FLORIDA -- FRANK MONTGOMERY (KNEELING CENTER)
STICKY BURCH (SECOND FROM LEFT STANDING) 

Over 74 years later, Montgomery and Burch met again – but that’s another story.

               

17TH RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON GAVE ALL THEY HAD

In a 2014 Memorial Day article in these pages, I wrote about S/Sgt. Howard Hodges, a cousin who made the supreme sacrifice for his country.  His B-25 was shot down off the coast of New Guinea 70 years prior – his body was never recovered.

Hodges’ parents, sisters, brother, and all but one of his extended family have passed away.  They died knowing little more about his death than the preceding sentence.

While researching the 2014 article, I learned Hodges’ commanding officer was killed on the same mission.  Major William Grant Tennille, Jr. commanded the 17^th Reconnaissance Squadron of the 5^th Air Force.  He was a Greensboro native whose family lived on Asheboro Street during Tennille’s early years.

Fast forward three years – having found the 2014 article online, the Naval Institute Press asked me to write a review of ROCKY BOYER’S WAR, a book about the air war over New Guinea to be published in 2017. 

What a gem of family research that turned out to be -- First Lieutenant Rocky Boyer was the Communications Officer, 17^th Reconnaissance Squadron, 5^th Air Force!

Rocky Boyer -- now deceased -- kept an unauthorized diary about his days on New Guinea.  Allen Boyer, who has written five books previously, penned ROCKY BOYER’S WAR, based on his dad’s diary.

While my cousin’s name wasn’t mentioned in the Boyers’ book or diary, many dots were connected.  Of 10 B-25s ordered to attack a heavily armed convoy of Japanese warships on June 8, 1944, Captain Sumner Lind piloted The Straggler.  From The Straggler’s crash report at another site, I learned my cousin was Lind’s photographer/gunner.

Why send only 10 bombers against such a formidable force?  MacArthur’s orders paraphrased, “Send all the aircraft you have!”  The 17^th Reconnaissance Squadron only had 10 operables.

The convoy was of unknown size, since it had not been sighted in two days.  Earlier intelligence reports indicated destroyers were towing barges loaded with troops, supported by heavy cruisers and the Yamato and Musashi, the largest battleships ever constructed.

Facing basically a suicide mission, Captain Bert Smiley, the Squadron Operations Officer, briefed the crews and assigned himself to be first over the target.  Major Tennille, who had just returned from a mission, negated the briefing orders of his best friend -- he would lead the mission.

The convoy was sighted after three hours in the air.  While U.S. sources vary as to number and type of ships in the convoy, Japanese records indicate six destroyers were involved – other ships had been diverted or delayed.

To draw fire and divert attention from the other B-25s, Tennille and his wingman dove towards the first Japanese destroyer.  Both were shot down by intense anti-aircraft fire before they had an opportunity to release their bombs.

Captain Lind and his wingman pressed the attack next – their bombs were away, but The Straggler became the third B-25 to go down from anti-aircraft fire.

The Battle of Waios was over in 90 seconds – one Japanese destroyer was sunk, the others were damaged enough to abort their mission.

Three B-25s were lost.  Of the seven that returned to base, five were too damaged to fly again. 

The bodies of Major William Grant Tennille, Jr. and S/Sgt. Howard Hodges were not recovered.  I don’t know when my Aunt Lillie Post Hodges, of Shreveport, LA was notified about the loss of her son.  According to the Greensboro Daily News, the Tennilles, living in Winston-Salem at the time, were notified of their loss on June 28, 1944 – 20 days after his death.

Operations Officer Bert Smiley retired as a colonel after 30 years of service.  In a 1947 wedding in Winston-Salem, he married Mary Tennille, the younger sister of his best friend and former commanding officer.  The Smileys are interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

General George Churchill Kenney, Commander of Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific, wrote after the war that Tennille received a Congressional Medal of Honor.  While he was recommended for this award, he received the nation’s second-highest honor -- a distinguished service cross -- as did his wingman, Lieutenant Howard C. Wood.  A command change likely had more to do with the lesser award than the valor and bravery involved.

For service beyond the call of duty during the 90-second Battle of Waios – in addition to the two distinguished service crosses -- 60 distinguished flying crosses, 19 posthumous purple hearts and a flock of air medals were awarded.

SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS BELIEVE THIS IS HOWARD HODGES,
ALTHOUGH IT COULD BE HIS BROTHER, CHARLES
BOTH SERVED IN THE ARMY AIR FORCES DURING WW II

It’s a small wonder the Battle of Waios received minimal press coverage – on another front, the Battle of Normandy was just two days old.

ROCKY BOYER’S WAR is available in ebook format, bookstores, and from Amazon.  It chronicles World War II experiences of a B-25 squadron commanded by a Greensboro pilot who was posthumously awarded the nation’s second-highest award for his service.

          

 

   

A COUSIN'S SUPREME SACRIFICE

That a sizeable number of folks fail to research the military stories of their loved ones baffles me.   Whether it be service in peacetime or wartime, in country or overseas, in the Revolutionary War or the Gulf War, these are the stories from which our family and country personas spring.

In some instances, those loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  Failing to research and memorialize the service of these heroes is unpardonable. 

Excuses for missing the military story boat are rampant, wide and varied.  Some don’t have the time.  Some don’t have the resources.  Some don’t have the facilities or expertise.  Some don’t know where to start.  Some don’t have the interest.

None of those excuses work for me.  I knew an older cousin had gone missing in World War II.  I knew he was an airman because my aunt wore his wings on her blouse or apron six days a week and on her dress on Sundays.  My mother said that wearing the wings helped my aunt grieve the loss of her son. 

AUNT LILLIE POST HODGES, SHREVEPORT, LA

I knew the missing airman was a special first cousin to my mother.  His two sisters, both nurses, took my mother into the Hodges home during her problematic pregnancy to deliver me.

After my mother, aunt, and both nurse cousins had been dead for many years, and after I had encouraged hundreds to research and appreciate their military heritage, I set about finding out what happened to my cousin, S/Sgt Howard Hodges, of Shreveport, LA.

My wife and I visited a 93-year old cousin in the mountains of North Georgia whom I had only met once in my life, as a young boy.  In bits and pieces, she remembered our cousin, Howard Hodges, was a gunner on a bomber that went down off the coast of New Guinea on June 8, 1944, but his body was never recovered.

With help from another cousin, Google, and the miraculous intersection with the author/family member of another WW II veteran, we learned that on June 8, 1944, the 5^th Air Force operated in the New Guinea area.  And that the 71^st Tactical Reconnaissance Group flew B-25 bombers in the region.  And that the 17^th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron flew a bombing mission of 10 B-25s off New Guinea on June 8, 1944.

 

We found that Howard Hodges was assigned as photographer/gunner aboard one of those 10 B-25 Mitchell bombers for that mission of June 8, 1944. 

THOUGHT BY FAMILY MEMBERS TO BE HOWARD HODGES,
BUT COULD BE HIS BROTHER, CHARLES, WHO ALSO SERVED
IN THE ARMY AIR FORCE IN WW II

It had already been suspected to have been a critical mission.  Major William G. Tennille, Jr., Commanding Officer of the Squadron, personally led the raid, tasked to attack a convoy of six Japanese destroyers bearing enemy troops to retake Biak. 

The Japanese convoy threw up intense anti-aircraft fire as the B-25s fearlessly made their bomb runs in a blazing, low level attack.  At least four Japanese ships were heavily damaged and one was sunk.

General MacArthur personally commended the mission, "The job was magnificently done."  General Ennis Whitehead did as well, "This squadron has this date performed one of the finest military feats of the war."  

The mission was costly.  Of the ten B-25s, only seven returned to their home field – five of them were heavily damaged.

The B-25 on which Howard Hodges served as Photographer/Gunner was hit by anti-craft fire and crashed.  The entire crew was presumed dead the day of the mission. They are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.

HOWARD HODGES WENT DOWN IN THE B-25 "STRAGGLER"
SHOWN HERE IN NEW GUINEA, MANNED BY A PREVIOUS CREW

Posthumously, Howard Hodges was awarded a purple heart, air medal, distinguished flying cross, as well as additional awards and campaign ribbons.  I don’t know if any of those decorations made it to my aunt in Shreveport, LA.  If so, she was always partial to her son’s aviation gunnery wings.

She had a second son in the Army Air Force – Charles Hodges Jr. flew missions ‘over the hump’ during World War II, and returned home safely.

As an aside, Major William Grant Tennille Jr., Commanding Officer of the 17 TRS, also went down.  Tennille was posthumously awarded a distinguished service cross for his action.  It is the second highest military award that can be given to a member of the U.S. Army.

While it was sadly satisfying to learn of my cousin’s military service and his supreme sacrifice for his country, Major Tennille’s part of the story introduced an ironic twist.

 

Major Tennille was born in Greensboro, NC, and lived at 600 Asheboro Street.  His father worked for the Guilford Benbow Hotel and Hare’s Motors.  The Tennilles later moved to Winston-Salem, where William Tennille Sr. was still listed as a hotelier.  Major Tennille is memorialized in Salem Cemetery.

The Tennille connection went beyond the fact that my cousin and his commanding officer went down on the same mission.  That his commander lived at 600 Asheboro Street in Greensboro before World War II was most ironic – one of this writer’s most fulfilling projects was researching and writing THE HISTORY OF ASHEBORO STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, completed and privately published in 2012.  The church was located at 710 Asheboro Street, Greensboro, NC. 

The Tennille connection and intersection with Allen D. Boyer, who wrote Rocky Boyer's War: An Unvarnished History of the Air Blitz That Won the War in the Southwest Pacific, are gifts of historicity that keep on giving.  They are more fully developed in another column.  

   

       

CHUCKS I'VE KNOWN

My wife and I have been blessed with good neighbors.  As the years turned, I intended to write about two of them.  Both had morphed from good neighbors to good friends.  Both were sailors of Korean War vintage.  Both were named Charles.  Both were known by everyone as “Chuck.”

I am sorry to report, both are being written about in the past tense.

NAVY SEABEE -- CHUCK LEIPHAM

Chuck Leipham, the Seabee, lived 177 feet across the street from our front door.  Chuck Kasai, the Corpsman, lived 210 feet around the corner from our front door.  No, we don’t feel cramped at all – our prior home was a 35’ motor home. 

CHUCK & GLORIA LEIPHAM

The two Chucks were perfect neighbors.  The Seabee was a master carpenter.  Among other things, he walked me through the installation of a life-saving stairway rail.  The Corpsman was a retired IBM engineer.  He coached me in keeping our amps, ohms, pixels, and bytes going in the right direction.

NAVY CORPSMAN -- CHUCK KASAI

Leipham and Kasai had similarities beyond their names.  Both were Northerners.  Both re- retired to Greensboro because they had a daughter who lived here.  Leipham has another daughter who lives in New York – Kasai has a son who lives in Raleigh.  Jane and Chuck, Gloria and Chuck -- childhood sweethearts -- had been married for a cumulative 124 years.

CHUCK & JANE KASAI

The two sailors and I did not talk a lot about military service, although the three of us hit many of the same ports around the world.  Leipham much preferred to talk about his two grand-sons and what talented prodigies they were.  Kasai’s Navy stories were usually centered around his Navy grandson, a senior chief petty officer of the submarine force.  “He’s the real sailor in our family,” the grandfather insisted.

While I missed a lot about how they had lived on this earth for over eight decades, I was more privy to their eleventh hour feelings about how they would leave this earth.  Facing end of life issues, both men were brave, analytical and fiercely independent.  Neither intended to be a family burden – but neither wanted to spend their last days belted in a nursing home wheelchair lane.

During these times a friend loaned us her copy of “Being Mortal,” by Dr. Atul Gawandi, Medicine and What Matters at the End.  It read like Dr. Gawandi had been inside the minds of Chuck Leipham and Chuck Kasai – or vice versa.

The good doctor marveled at the medical paradigms available to stave off death for the terminally ill, such as $12,000 per month chemotherapy, $4,000 per day intensive care, ventilators, defibrillators, and thousands of dollars in endless surgeries – often with unintended circumstances. 

From a perspective he did not learn in medical school, the doctor writes that some terminally ill patients might have lived better, and possibly longer, had they opted for more conservative care.  That is not a new perspective – hind sight remains 20/20.

Since our neighbors were blessed with excellent insurance and full VA benefits, financial ramifications were not significant.  Neither were medical wonders that might stave off death. 

Leipham realized he had passed the point of too many damaged joints and failed organs.  Kasai realized cancer had raged in vital organs too long and too far.  They spoke with authority that their bodies were wearing out and concurred with Dr. Gawandi, “Aging isn’t an appealing prospect.”

The doctor, Leipham, Kasai and I all went to different churches.  They did not hear our pastor proclaim, “God realizes the aging process that takes our bodies away doesn’t have a lot of appeal, but can be fixed in one heartbeat.” 

       

Secure in their faith, my two friends chose to let God have His way.  Obliging and loving families, caring doctors, and Hospice helped ease the process.  Both men were ever so grateful for the small amount of autonomy that existed into their last days – remember, they were “fiercely independent.” 

Dr. Gawandi admits he doesn’t have all the answers, as evidenced by the case study of his own father, also a doctor, during his last days.  He is even quicker to admit that his profession has a lot to learn when it comes to counseling and treating patients at the end of their lives.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed “Being Mortal.”  The book changed our thinking on some issues and led us to tweak a few of our plans.  A chapter on my two friends called Chuck would have made his book even better. 

Charles T. (Chuck) Leipham passed away March 18, 2016 – he was 83.  Charles (Chuck) Frank Kasai passed away November 3, 2016 – he was 84.