DEAR EDITOR:

As Veterans Day approaches, I have been thinking about my uncle, Edward Fiddler of Oil City, Pa., who was killed during the launch of the invasion of Saipan in June 1944. Edward Paul Fiddler was one of the first Marines to be killed during the campaign. I was not yet born, so I never knew my uncle. However, he is painfully remembered in my family for his sacrifice and contribution towards preserving the American way. Our family is certain that he is ìat restî in Heaven. Uncle Edward was the youngest of four children. He was a devout and pious youth in a far different social milieu, the 1920s and 1930s, and then became part of the WWII “Greatest Generation.”

When Edward Paul turned of age during the war, he registered for the Reserves, and from there was called up. He was only 21 when he was killed. He was buried in a cemetery on Saipan Island at a military base with other soldiers killed in battle. A family friend, also from Oil City and serving in the same regiment as Edward, learned of the sad death. He travelled to the cemetery where Edward was interred, determined to pay his respects. After searching among many slim crosses, he located Edward Paul’s grave. Strangely, unlike the other bare crosses, Edward’s personal Rosary beads were strung over the crossbar. With his camera, he took a picture of the cross and beads, and mailed it back to Edward’s mother in Oil City. This was a proud and comforting relief for my aunt, a proud member of the Altar & Rosary Society at St. Joseph’s Church in downtown Oil City.

The Fiddlers honor Uncle Edward Paul for comfort and appreciation of the family’s and other families’ sacrifices to preserve our most perfect Union. For those departed, every day is Veterans Day. I report gladly that some years after these events, Edward Paul Fiddler’s remains were exhumed and returned to Oil City where he was properly laid to rest next to his mother. In Memoriam, Edward Paul Fiddler received the Pacific Campaign Medal, the Victory Battle Star Medal and a Purple Heart.

DENNIS FIDDLER

Youngstown