BEHIND THE MIKE

The holidays, as the song goes, are “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” For most, yes, they are. For others, they can be painful remembrances of lost loved ones.

I recently lost my mother-in-law Rita Thiel. Almost a year ago we buried my father-in-law Paul, both tough remembrances. My most painful holiday loss was the death of my own father, who died two days after Christmas 1997. We buried him on New Year’s Eve.

Staff Sergeant Michael A. Aun Sr. was a multiple Purple Heart winner and was the recipient of both the Silver and Bronze Stars. He rarely ever spoke of his war experiences. To be fair, maybe he didn’t like us kids making fun of one of his four wounds, which was right in the buttocks (as Forrest Gump would say). He probably heard every “friendly fire” joke ever uttered.

I rode shotgun with my dad in his construction business for over 5 years while in school. And yet, in all those years of riding in the truck, he never spoke of his war experiences.

I always felt cheated that he never volunteered much about his war recollections. It was only after he died that a Colonel Tom Piddington wrote to the family to share the rest of his story.

“The 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (mechanized) landed on beaches of Southern France on August 15,1944,” explained Col. Piddington in his note.

How ironic, I thought when I read this. I was his third-born child, exactly five years (o the day later on August 15, 1949.

“As a unit of VI Corps, 7th United States Army,” Piddington continued, “One-third of the Squadron landed at St. Tropez with the 3rd Infantry Division, one-third at St. Maxime with the 45th Infantry Division, and the remainder landed in St. Raphael with the 36th Infantry Division.”

“Staff Sgt. Aun was pinned down by the enemy,” recalls Col. Piddington. “He was wounded, but managed to save several of his men. Still, under fire, he could not move an inch. The sniper continued taking shots at him for over a half hour. It was only when his lieutenant was able to kill the sniper, with the help of a Frenchman, that rescued him.”

His wound that day was most unique. A bullet entered his helmet, managed to penetrate the skin on the side of his head, traversed around his skull and exited out the rear of the helmet. You would not believe this except he kept the helmet to prove it.

“I was Captain of Troop A on the 22nd of August 1944 when we ran into a heavy German force at a place called Montelimar, France,” wrote Piddington. “That was the day S-Sgt. Aun won the Silver Star for his brave act.”

“Michael-A,” as he became affectionately known later in life, was a veteran of the North Africa, Sicilian and Italian campaigns. In North Africa, he served as an Arabic interpreter for General Dwight Eisenhower.

Another of his four wounds occurred on the drive to free Rome. He also participated in the invasion of Southern France.

Michael-A entered the military by default. He was formerly in the theatrical display business. He would attend movies, sketch a scene and then paint that theme on the marquees of some 29 theaters around Paterson, NJ. When the offset press was invented, he was out of business overnight, ending the original marquee art business as he knew it.

His brother Fred was also a World War II vet, serving in the Navy in the South Pacific.

“Your dad was a genuine war hero,” explained Col. Piddington after I had the opportunity to meet him years later at his home in Spring Hill, Fla. “He was wounded throughout the entire march on Rome. The day he earned the Silver Star he saved the lives of several of the men in his command.”

Holidays are a bittersweet time of the year for many people including yours truly. Treasure those sweet memories of your departed loved ones. Their sacrifices make their loss even more cherished.

“Behind the Mike” appears in over 1,500 newspapers in 41 countries.