Excerpt from Posthumous Award of Army Air Medal to First Lt. William C. Dierker, the older brother of my mom, Betty (Dierker) Hagerty: “Ordered to make an observation flight on 1st of November 1944, the plane piloted by Lt. Dierker, on taking off from the field, was attacked by Japanese “Tonys” and forced into a cocoanut grove, resulting in a crash where he was fatally injured.”
An article from the May 1945 issue of the Marine Corps magazine Leatherneck mentioned my Uncle Bill and this encounter in an article citing the bravery of the Marine observers and Army pilots of these flights over the front lines and often deep into enemy held territory. The mention closed with “Three Marines from a passing truck convoy braved a second strafing attack to cut the fliers from the wreckage, but death beat an ambulance to the side of the victims.”
The volunteering part you ask? I’ve had the pleasure of being a board member since 2004 at St. Margaret Hall, A Carmelite Sisters sponsored long term care facility. My father, Bob Hagerty (WWII veteran of the 712th Tank Battalion and Korean War veteran tank commander), was lovingly cared for by the Sisters and staff during the final months of his life prior to passing February 16, 2002. I’ve had the chance to meet so many wonderful residents and have so many meaningful encounters that convince me the rewards of volunteering far outweigh the “sacrifice.” I knew very few of my Mom’s childhood friends and she really never spoke at all about losing her beloved brother Bill. One afternoon at St. Margaret Hall I encountered a new resident Pat (Grannen) Jacobs and learned she had grown up across the street from my mother in Norwood. It still makes me shiver to recall her saying – “I hope you won’t mind me mentioning this, but I still remember looking out our front window when the sedan with the Army Officer and a Chaplain arrived to tell your grandparents that their son had been killed-in-action over the Philippine Islands. Your mother was several years older than me but always so kind to us younger girls and it hurt me to know how sad she must have been.”
I believe one of the best ways we can honor our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice is to continue to give of ourselves to our own community in whatever way we find most meaningful.