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*1 NEW CASTLE NEWS, MONDAY, MAY 30, 2011ArmyFrom page A1grabbed a couple of letter openers from a desk/’ said Elchison, who has since given them to his daughter. He said a soldier actually confiscated one of Hitler’s cars. “I’m not sure how he got it to America.Elchison and his contemporaries are called the Greatest Generation” in a book written by former network news anchor Tom Brokaw, who described them as those who grew up in America during the Great Depression and defeated Hitler in the great war.Elchison was fortunate, describing his worst war injury as being self-inflicted from a military issue can opener.“I was hungry,” he said.Surviving such trials physically is one thing, but who knows the mental and emotional baggage that may be carried by those who witnessed such carnage?Elchison admits he had nightmares after the war, but shrugged them off like he does most anything unpleasant. They didn't last long, he said.He has empathy for all soldiers. I know what they went through or what they are going through,” he said.Many veterans seldom express feelings about their personal war history even to family or friends. “We just don’t talk about it,” Elchison said.But in honor of Memorial Day 2011, Elchison agreed to tell his story as part of a salute to all those who served.65 YEARS TOGETHERElchison and the former Delores “Dee” Beighley recently celebrated their 65thMichel 'Mike' Elchison was an 18-year-old from Lawrence County when he left for World War II in 1944.anniversary. They were married Feb. 16, 1946, at Third Presbyterian Church.Dee said friends and even her parents were skeptical the relationship would last.They didn't think it would work because we were so different,” she said.But that was seven decades, two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren ago. A fourth will be born soon.Dee believes they make a perfect couple. “I can’t see and he’s got great vision. But he doesn’t hear too well,” said Dee, who provides ears for the couple.Separation during the war threatened to break them apart.“I forgot what he looked like,” said Dee, who graduated from New Castle High School in 1945 while Mike was in Europe. It had been so long that I couldn’t remember what he looked like. ”Mike sent perfume and handkerchiefs from Paris.Dee still has them.Mike Elchison displays his dog tags and medals from his time in the Army during World War II.Unannounced, he returned to New Castle on leave in 1944, paying a cab driver $20 to drive him from Pittsburgh. That morning Dee saw a solider get out of a cab near her house, but she didn’t recognize him.I was on my way to work” at Strouss-HirshbeigCo., she said. “Needless to say, 1 didn’t go in that day.” Mike was worried that Dee would not accept his marriage proposal so he re-enlisted before giving it.But Dee said yes. They drove to Buffalo during a winter storm in a borrowed car on their honeymoon. It broke down on the way back. Once home, Mike knew he must soon report for 18 more months of duty.“I didn’t think they would send me back to Europe, ” said Elchison, who had black hair when he went to war in 1944, but it was gray whenhis service ended.FIRST MEETINGDee was a cheerleader at Ben Franklin Junior High when she noticed Mike, who played on the eighth-grade basketball team at rival George Washington Junior High.“I thought he was very cute,” she said.Mike quit school after eighth grade to take a job, but they began to hang out at Miller’s Pond.Things began to get serious, but war got in the way.After five weeks of basic training in Macon, Ga., Mike was in Europe carrying a gun. He hadn’t carried one since he tripped with a hunting rifle, causing it to discharge and strike a stepbrother in the leg. His father was so upset that he destroyed the gun.When his mother, Bessie Elchison, died of tuberculo-Delores Dee and Michel 'Mike' Elchison from their wedding day 65 years ago. They were married Feb. 16, 1946, at Third Presbyterian Church.sis, Mike was only nine. He took over some of the household duties, often cooking for his father and three sisters.Dee’s mother, Nellie Beighley, became a mother to Mike, too. His father-in-law, Theodore “Ted” Beighley, took Elchison under his wing and taught him carpentry.Elchison spent the next 50 years building things and working in heavy constructionHe once fell from a four-story building, landing on his feet. It might have been fatal, but heavy rains had softened the ground, making it a virtual mudpit. Still his injuries were significant. He wore a full body cast for a year. During that time, he suffered a gallbladder attack and doctors needed to cut through the cast to perform the operation.And there was a chainsaw accident that took off the little finger on his left hand. He drove home with his hand wrapped in a handkerchief.“He was going to drive himself to the hospital,” said Dee, who recalled that he wanted to make sure that insurance would pay before having the digit reattached.Ten years ago, he fell from a ladder while working around his home. A friend provided Elchison with a wheelchair after the accident, but he never used it. He walks with a stoop, but it doesn’t prevent him from doing what he wants and going where he wants.NOT GOING BACKDee planned a trip to Europe in 2002, but Mike chose not to go.“I didn’t leave anything there and I’m not going back,” Mike said.Dee visited Amsterdam and Vienna, taking in many of the sights that Mike had told her about.“You can still see the scars of war over there,” said Dee, who worked for 25 years at the former Strouss-Hirshbeig Co. as head of the girls 7-to-14 department.When he returned from Europe Mike put down roots and never left.They lived and raised a family within walking distance of Cascade Park, where they spent many afternoons. Mike was a climber and a bit of a daredevil, according to Dee, who has a fear of heights. “He loved to rock the Ferris wheel.”Elchison is happiest these days in his backyard garden.He doesn’t like to think about war. But he admits, “It never goes away. ”His motto today is the same what it was 65 years ago.“You do what you have to do to make it through.”
Newspaper Details
New Castle News
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, May 30, 2011
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Sonja B.
USA 14 Jun 2019
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