Second World War: Tall, Thin Man in an Army Uniform

My memories about the second World War center around my Uncle Herbert Nelson’s homecoming. My parents, my baby sister,
my mother’s slightly retarded brother and I lived in a tiny town, a place in
the road really – called Dover,
Florida. Our house was built with
the back facing a long dirt road; on the other side were the piney woods and
palmettos. This road led to the highway where my father walked each morning to
catch his ride to work.

We were about a half mile from the
nearest neighbors, and the land was situated so that one could look down the
road toward the highway and see anyone walking in the direction of our home.

One sunny morning, Mama was doing
yard work, and I was playing nearby. I did not see anyone coming, and neither
did my mother. Suddenly, a tall, thin man in an Army uniform came striding down
the dirt driveway toward my mother. Dropping her gardening tools, she made a
small cry and ran to the man. They embraced and cried and smiled at the same
time.

I might have been frightened, since
I was a shy child, but somehow I was not. I walked closer and stared up at my
mother, who looked down and said, “This is your Uncle Herbert. He’s been
away in the War.” I was 4 years old, and this was the first I knew about
an Uncle Herbert. He had come to stay a while and would share a room with his
younger brother at the end of the house.

Uncle Herbert bought a Model A Ford
with his mustering-out pay, and we proudly rode to the crossroads grocery store
and to the Baptist
Church. Mama said the car
sounded like a sewing machine. He often drove us to see relatives in nearby
towns. Once my sister and I were playing on the edge of a fish pond, the kind people
used to have in their front yards for decoration or landscaping. The deep end
was about three feet deep, and Sissy fell in. I screamed and groped under the
water. I couldn’t swim and was afraid to go in. I got her dress and pulled her
up as everyone came running out. Uncle Herbert asked me if I pushed her. He had
seen me hit her with a swing at another time and was suspicious. But that time
the fall was an accident.

My uncle had never married and was
not used to young children. He would hold me on his lap sometimes, and I often
asked him to do this. He was very nervous from the War and would jump visibly
if someone dropped silverware. I began to drop mine just to see him jump, until
Mama got wise and spanked me hard for it.

I was a timid child and easily
disciplined. However, my sister, who was only a year and one-half old and very
precocious, got the idea to crawl under the dining table and bite Uncle
Herbert’s leg. She did this several times, until he asked my mother if it would
be all right to bite Sissy back. My mother gave permission, and the next time,
Uncle picked Sissy up and bit her on the leg. Did she ever howl! She was a very
quick learner and did not bite anyone’s leg after that.

The thing I remember as the most
outstanding change he made in my life was a little red toothbrush. I don’t know
why my mother had not taught me to brush my teeth yet. Uncle Herbert looked
surprised when she admitted this fact. He went to town and bought me a little
red toothbrush and a small carton of Arm & Hammer baking soda. Then he took
me to the back porch, where there was a sink and pump, and showed me how to
brush my teeth. He told me I should do this morning and evening.

My favorite Christmas memory came
during this time. We had an aunt and several older cousins who lived about a
mile down the road. While I was eating supper, my cousin Gladys came in very
quietly and put gifts under the pine tree, lit the fire in the fireplace and
strung red and green ribbons across the ceiling. Everyone said Santa Claus came
while I was eating. One of the gifts was a small clothesline, wooden pins and
doll clothes to wash and hang out.

After about a year of my uncle
living in our rather small house, things became a little strained. My uncle
decided to find employment on one of the nearby farms and move out. He took his
brother with him and was responsible for Uncle Orman from then on. He was very
thrifty and was able to save enough to buy his own small farm and orange grove.
He also bought a new tractor and an almost-new pickup truck.

As I grow older, I wonder about his
talent for stretching money so far. Some people cannot handle a good salary,
but he took a small amount and made it work for him and his brother.

Uncle Herbert became a member and
deacon in the Baptist
Church. He was a most
religious man, living his religion and not just talking it. He did not marry.
After Uncle Orman died, Uncle Herbert lived alone, and when he passed on, he
left his estate to the Baptist
Church. I am very glad to
have shared part of my life with this man. To me, he was just as courageous
after the War as he had been in the War. 

Dora De Shong

Aubrey, Texas