Risking their lives for the safety and greater good of others is something firefighters, police officers and other public servants do on a daily basis. The lives of active-duty military personnel, however, are at risk 24/7 with no end in sight. Their bravery, tenacity and tactfulness in risky situations are what has ended successful battles, kept Americans safe and contributed to the freedom of millions. Annually on Veterans Day, we pause to reflect on those veterans—both the ones who fought and those who remain fighting. Two World War II veterans at Grace Presbyterian Village in Oak Cliff, Dick Miracle, a lieutenant in the Navy, and Herman Tipton, a first class sergeant in the Army, tell their two very different World War II experiences with one common thread: if they had to choose, no matter the difficulty or distress, they would do it all over again.
Herman Tipton was drafted to the Army at age 18, just after graduating high school and marrying his wife, Betty. Tipton was stationed in Hawaii and served a very special role as a medic. He was trained by the Army’s doctors to care for various illnesses and injuries and saw some of the war’s most tragic casualties. His job was, above all, to keep the soldiers healthy and strong. Daily, they would line up and Tipton would go down row by row to give each soldier the required yellow fever tablet, which was rampant and spread through mosquitoes in the tropical climate where they were stationed. He also was involved in retrieving and reviving soldiers injured in combat, which he vividly remembers today.
“I assisted the doctors during all casualties, which included recovering soldiers after bombs were tested in our area,” Tipton said. “One evening they tested a bomb over our city and it had such a large vacuum it sucked the windows and furniture out of a large building and flipped boats in the harbor from its force. That was just one of the horrors we saw and something I’ll always remember because it was so overwhelming to see with your own eyes.”
While Tipton was away witnessing much of World War II’s historical events, his wife, also contributed to war efforts. She worked as a seamstress in Waxahachie sewing Army uniforms to meet the demands of war. After Tipton returned, they had two sons and he worked for a cleaning company, then later as a mechanic.
“The Army took a high school kid and grew him into a man, who then grew into a person with purpose, not just a spectator,” Tipton said. “It completed me and was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.”
Around the same time, Dick Miracle graciously volunteered to serve in the Navy at 18 years old and was stationed on several ships in the U.S., Marshall Islands and Guam as a communications officer, which he was expertly trained for at Cornell and Harvard Universities before deploying. His job was to code and decode messages from the enemy and relay them to his commanding officers so they would know how to position themselves or plan for attacks.
“This was for security so the enemy wouldn’t know what we were talking about,” Miracle said. “Many times the messages we would intercept were in Japanese and we would use a coding machine that typed it out in English, but used only code words. We also sent messages to allies that were in an indecipherable code.”
While on the ships, Miracle had a front-row view to many historical events and relayed life-changing messages. He saw both A-bombs drop on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese surrendering, signaling the end of World War II. He felt such relief that he could return home to his parents once again.
“I knew of many shipmates who were killed, and I feel like I was very fortunate,” Miracle said. “We were fighting for our lives and so many people lost their youth fighting for their country.”
After four years in the Navy, Miracle was grateful to be able to pick up his life where it left off. After returning home, he met and married his wife soon after. They had three children together and lived in Texas, where Dick worked for his father’s business as a food broker, selling items to grocery stores. He didn’t talk much about his experience in the Navy with his family because while he had good memories, he often tried to focus on more cheerful subjects. He feels very fortunate to return home, uninjured and safe, unlike many others who served with him.
Although these men have very different war experiences, they are bound together by one common theme: perseverance and courage are taught by facing life’s challenges head on. Grace Presbyterian Village plans to honor Miracle, Tipton and the many other brave veterans in its community this Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11, at 2 p.m., with a short program given by Rose-Mary Rumbly. The ceremony will also feature local musician Sam Baker and reflections from several veterans.