MY UNCLE, MY HERO

Every year, when observing Veteran’s Day, I think about my uncle Ross Cody. I knew, from photographs of Ross in the family album, that he was in the Army because there are photos of me with him in uniform. What I didn’t know was that he was a much decorated veteran of World War II. I guess we didn’t talk about his war experiences when he visited our family in Ohio. It was not until someone in the family sent to me a copy of an article in the Ashland, Ohio, newspaper in the fall of 2004 that I realized what a hero he was. The article was about the fact that Ross was just now (in 2004) actually getting the medals awarded him in the war years in the 1940’s. Among those medals were two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. Ross was a part of the 101st Airborne Division which was parachuted into France just prior to the D-Day landing to blow up things as a divergence. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Ross is quoted as saying he didn’t push for the medals at the end of the war because he was too busy getting back to a normal live after serving from January of 1943 to August of 1945. I always liked my uncle but now have a better appreciation of what he went through on the battlegrounds of France and Italy. He will always be my inspiration on Veteran’s Day.