Denise Goolsby
What's next for vets
With the profile of Roy Mortensen today, Denise Goolsby has profiled 323 veterans of World War II living in the Coachella Valley.
Starting in February, The Desert Sun will kick off a weekly mini-profile of veterans as well as a new Sunday feature highlighting news and events involving veterans and active-duty service people.
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Fourteen months ago, World War II was a hunk of history wedged between other newsworthy items of the era, an endless series of names, dates, battles, and black and white photos tucked inside the pages of schoolbooks.
I landed straight A's in my high school and college history classes, but during the course of interviewing more than 300 local World War II veterans, I was embarrassed to discover how little I knew about this defining event in our nation's history.
For instance, I had no idea we fought against the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands. I didn't even know where the island chain was located — or that it even existed, for that matter — until P-38 pilot Blaine Mack of Palm Desert, who was stationed there during the war, pulled out a map and pointed to some tiny specks off the Alaskan coast.
The next day, I went out and bought an atlas — which is now well-worn, dog-eared and sits less than an arm-length away from my computer keyboard.
At first it was a big challenge to pin down just where these vets were fighting.
It took me a while to memorize the spelling of obscure islands in the Pacific, like Eniwetok, Ulithi and Ie Shima and to remember the location of tiny island chains like the Admiralties and the Solomons.
Early on, for every story I wrote, I spent hours researching on the Internet, scouring sites for information about unfamiliar battles, names of ports, prisoner of war camp designations, to name a few.
Losing our vets
It's rare for a journalist to have the opportunity to dedicate an entire year to one singular focus. I'm extremely grateful to Desert Sun Executive Editor Rick Green for giving me the time and the resources to capture the stories of our World War II vets.
This project is timely, and, as I have become painfully aware, time is of the essence.
A photo of World War II veteran Charles Jarrell, a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, hangs near the computer at my work desk.
Each day, I take a moment to glance at Jarrell's smiling face looking out at me from the faded newspaper clipping. Below Jarrell's photo is his obituary.
Jarrell, 84, who lived in Bermuda Dunes, passed away on June 1, not long after I visited him at home and his profile appeared in the pages of The Desert Sun.
I can still see him sitting in his overstuffed chair, chewing on a toothpick, his sparkling, mischievous eyes betraying his humble demeanor and his weakening physical state.
From one end of the valley to the other, I've sat at dinner tables and kitchenettes, on couches and comfy chairs, at poolside and in some instances, at the bedside, of the men and women of the Greatest Generation.
This project has brought me great joy and great satisfaction that these vets' stories will be forever preserved.
But there's also a lingering sense of sadness that has accompanied me on every step of the journey.
I've visited homes of vets who felt so alone, they asked me to stay just a little while longer to keep them company.
Some veterans I interviewed suffered from various stages of dementia and Alzheimer's.
A few vets are living in what can only be described as poverty.
At least 10 veterans I've profiled during this series have died since their stories appeared in the pages of The Desert Sun.
Sometimes, I know ahead of time that death is drawing near for a veteran. It's when I receive a call or an e-mail from a family member requesting that I come quickly to interview their beloved so he can share his story before it's too late.
One veteran died four days before his scheduled interview.
In early November, Marjorie Wichman called and left a message to let me know that her husband, Don Wichman, passed away on Oct. 13.
Don's story ran on June 5.
She said, “He was so proud of that article and we appreciate so much what you wrote, because it meant a lot to him thank you so much.”
I want to thank all the veterans, and their families, for graciously accepting me into their homes and sharing an intimate part of their lives with a very appreciative journalist.
