Mrs. Cordie's Soldier Son: A World War II Saga

Foreword

FOREWORD Lewis H. Carlson The myths engulfing what it means to be a combat soldier or a prisoner of war both reflect and influence our popular culture. The result is a collective memory of how men at war are supposed to act. Consider, for example, the immortal words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson: “Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die.” Although his “Charge of the Light Brigade” provides an inspirational message for a stirring novel or a flamboyant Hollywood film, it is not very satisfying or even rational for those doing the dying. Must the heroic soldier truly fall on his sword when all hope is gone, or are there also more practical choices? Several years ago I gave a talk at a military installation based on the experiences of former POWs I had interviewed. After I finished, the general in charge asked me who my personal heroes were. I was taken back by his question. Anyone who works with combat veterans and POWs always wonders how he would fare under similar conditions. Because my service time did not involve combat, I really cannot answer that question, although I do know that I am no John Wayne. For that matter, no one is, not even the Duke, whose military heroics were accomplished on the silver screen rather than on the fields of battle. My response to the general was simple: “Anyone who survived is my hero.” America’s cultural heroes are always self-sufficient, larger-than-life, act-alone individuals who stand tall in the saddle, no matter what the odds. Nothing puts the lie to such heroics more quickly than the reality of modern war, where the individual often becomes a faceless nonentity, battered by forces he often never sees and certainly does not control. He xii Foreword quickly recognizes the capricious whims of Dame Fortune, who far too often seems to reward serendipity or chance rather than personal bravery . In contrast to most fictional portrayals, combat soldiers and POWs soon discover that they cannot stand alone. Mutual dependence and even a degree of humility are important survival tactics, but these are difficult lessons for most American men, who have been raised to believe it is a sign of weakness to need the help of another human being. Prisoners of war are especially caught between what society expects of its soldiers and the reality of their captivity. The general who said, “Becoming a prisoner of war is a failed mission,” embraced the conventional wisdom, but lofty platitudes do not help those who have just been captured and are experiencing a series of devastating and debilitating shocks. One moment they are ostensibly independent agents fighting for their country. The next, they are reduced to helpless objects at the mercy of their enemies, wondering whether they are about to be executed. Hungry, sleepless, and sometimes wounded, they often feel an element of shame about the capture itself or even survival when so many buddies have died. Mrs. Cordie’s son, D.C. Caughran, also endured a long march, after which he and his fellow prisoners were locked in freezing boxcars and assaulted by friendly fire from Allied planes. Finally came the long, enervating months in a German stalag, characterized by stifling boredom, agonizing hunger, bitter cold, and minimal health care. The fortunate, such as D.C. Caughran, received supporting letters from home. Not so the poor soul whose wife wrote him, “Even though you are a coward and a failure, I still love you.” There is also the seldom-told account of families and friends back home. What is the effect of going weeks without hearing from a loved one at the front or, worse yet, receiving the dreaded notification that he is MIA or has become a POW? As told so well in Mrs. Cordie’s Soldier Son, these families, desperate for news, searched through official and unofficial records, sought out returning veterans, and formed support groups of families in similar circumstances. The fact that there remain more than seventy-eight thousand American World War II MIAs means that tens of thousands of families have never reached closure. Finally, there is another part of a soldier’s or a POW’s life that is seldom addressed in popular culture. Fictional portrayals of war usually Foreword xiii end with either glorious victory or noble defeat. But in...