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Our CEO, Chris Mangum, recently received a collection of medals in the mail after locating his maternal grandfather's military records. He discovered a Silver Star to his surprise (pictured above), igniting newfound curiosity about his late progenitor. We explore this unexpected family history, memories of his grandfather, and what it means to serve in the military.
BD - "What was your initial reaction when you opened up your FedEx Express package and saw a Silver Star staring back at you?"
CM – Well, it was pretty emotional. This had started as a project to document some of my grandfather’s military service for my younger son who is named after him. I knew he had fought in WWII, but he had never talked with me about the war. I learned from talking with my mother that he had been strongly impacted by the experience. Through a significant amount of research, I finally found his Army separation document from when he was honorably discharged after WWII. This single page document was barely legible, but it listed his awards. I saw the Silver Star listed there, but thought it must be a mistake. The Silver Star is a pretty big deal. Surely, he would have mentioned this to his children. On the other hand, I know that some veterans are so impacted by their wartime experiences that they tuck them away and never talk about them. Bottling all that up can manifest itself in some pretty negative ways. I just wanted to get what information I could get so I could piece the story together. I went through the process to request replacement medals, and waited for about six months before they finally arrived. I expected to open the package and find a note indicating a mistake of some kind. But there it was – the Silver Star. I got pretty choked up about it.
BD - "What is the significance of this award and how did your grandfather earn it?
CM – The Silver Star is the third highest award given by the military in recognition of personal valor against an enemy of the United States. It ranks just after the Congressional Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Crosses. I have not been able to find the citation for the award, which would describe the circumstances in which he earned it. What I have been able to find through my research is that he was in an infantry unit trained by General Omar Bradley that landed in the second wave of amphibious landings at Normandy. His unit made its way through the bocage to Paris, marched in the parade celebrating the liberation of Paris, and went on to fight its way well into Germany. He was in Europe for three years, and fought in four major campaigns or battles.
BD - "You told me that a fire destroyed many records of veterans from WWII back in the 1970s. Have you discovered that others are also learning about military family members many years later?
CM – I wasn’t aware before I started this journey that many service records of veterans who served between 1918 and 1945 were destroyed in a fire at the National Archives in 1973. These records are lost forever, and for those families that haven’t documented the service of their own veteran ancestors the process becomes much more difficult. The good news is that many of the records that remain are now digitized and available online. Through Ancestry.com, Fold3 and other websites, I was able to piece together enough information (Army serial number, approximate service dates, etc.) to request my grandfather’s separation document from the National Archives. It was about the only thing still available, but it was enough to request his replacement medals and to begin piecing together some of his story.
BD - "What are some of those memories of your grandfather that you have kept?"
CM – Grandpa was quiet, a tinkerer. He owned his own radio and TV repair business after the war. He built his first two houses by hand, including the house my mother and her two siblings grew up in. He had a gentle demeanor, but an intensity just beneath the surface. His first wife, my maternal grandmother, died when I was just a couple years old. He struggled with alcoholism for several years afterward. His second wife, Agnes, was a Godsend and pulled Grandpa back into our lives. They joked years later that on their first date they went to see the movie A Clockwork Orange, not knowing how strange and violent the movie was going to be. It was an inauspicious start to what were probably the ten best years of his life before he died of lung cancer (after a lifetime of smoking). Grandma Agnes lived with my parents for several years prior to her death and they are buried next to each other. They were part of that Greatest Generation, you know. They just got it done and didn’t make a big deal out of things.
BD - "Did he inspire you to want to serve in the military either directly or indirectly?"
CM – He didn’t really, because I didn’t know much about his military service until recently. If I had known more about his service, it would have been very influential in my decision to join the military. My father was a more direct influence on my decision to join. He was at basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington when I was born. I grew up wearing his dog tags and fatigues and hearing his stories. I can still recall his serial number from memory. He tells me his unit was on bivouac the day he got the news of my arrival. Unable to do anything else, he carved my name in a tree nearby. Twenty years later (almost to the day), I was at Ft. Lewis going thru my basic training. I looked all over that base for that tree, but never found it. I was lucky as a young man to have had good men all around me. Many young men and women are not so lucky.
BD - "What does it mean to be a military veteran that represents your country, family, and company you founded?"
CM – Brandon, that’s a big question. It didn’t mean as much to me when I was going through it. I was young and didn’t fully appreciate the value of the experience and how it would change me. In retrospect, joining the Army was one of the most important and impactful decisions of my life. It militarized me, for sure. But It paid for college, gave me structure at a pretty critical time in my life, made me more self-disciplined, taught me leadership lessons and just prepared me for the challenges of life. I knew I wasn’t likely to make a career out of it. I had too many “civilian” goals on my checklist. But I’m very proud of my service and consider it a true honor to have served. I still have my dress uniform in my closet and show it to my kids every now and then. Hopefully, someday my patches and medals will be as meaningful to them as that Silver Star was to me when it arrived.
From Last Month
Yours truly ran the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in New Orleans on February 10th. I hit my goal of raising over $500 by hitting $840, but I am still taking donations if you are interested.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Give meaning to your miles – choose your fundraising level and get ready to rock! Learn more about St. Jude.
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