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John Coons, a former U.S. Army private first class and World War
II veteran, puts together a jigsaw puzzle at the community center
near his Hampton, Va. home, June 6, 2012. The puzzles offer Coons a
mental reprieve from the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms he
still experiences from his time as a soldier. Photo by USAF Senior
Airman Jarad Denton
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HAMPTON, Va. (6/6/2012) — The old man's hands shook when he spoke,
as raw, un-tempered emotion fought to free itself from his
unassuming demeanor.
John Coons was 21 years old when he was
drafted into the U.S. Army. He was 21 when they assigned him to the
Third Army, 4th Armored Division, 22nd Infantry, as a rifleman. He
was 21 when the Nazis captured and tortured him for 47 days in a
dark cave.
Now, Coons, a 90-year-old World War II veteran,
sits restlessly in his chair, recalling the details surrounding his
experience as a prisoner-of-war.
“I was underground for 47
days in Algiers, Africa,” he said, softly. “They beat me with a
stick and hit me with switches across my legs. All they wanted was
information.”
Coons paused, his eyes welling up. His wife of
17 years, Janice Coons, continued for |
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him. |
“They blindfolded him when they captured him,” she said.
“He was the only person in the cave, aside from the
Germans.”
Prior to his capture, Coons had attended
Army basic training before he and his unit received orders
to ship out. For 13 days, he and the other soldiers waited
in the bowels of the ship they were on – with no idea where
they were headed. After dodging underwater minefields, the
vessel finally reached its destination – Algiers.
“We went ashore on landing crafts,” Coons began. “A lot of
guys were killed when they jumped off the boats and tried to
run ashore.”
As soon as Coons and the other soldiers
reached shore, they hurried to dig foxholes deep enough to
provide a barrier, to cover them from enemy fire. That was
when Coons came face to face with “Bouncing Betty.”
Betty was a very special land mine. It was set underneath a
board and covered with dirt. When it blew, the explosion
would act as a blade – slicing a soldier in half. Coons,
unfortunately, stepped on one.
“I yelled for everyone
to get down when I realized I'd stepped on a Bouncing
Betty,” he said. “I was told to fall flat on my face, as
fast as I could, which would blow the mine away from me. The
blast went right over my head.”
But there was no time
to pause and collect his bearings, enemy fire was still
raining down on the beach. After several days of fighting,
Coons went out on a night patrol – and was captured by the
Nazis.
“They took his dog tags, his wallet and
whatever else they wanted,” Janice said. “The only thing
they didn't take were his shoes.”
Leaving Coons'
shoes turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Hidden inside
one shoe was a 1921 silver dollar his mother gave him for
good luck. It was significant because 1921 was also the year
Coons was born, and to this day, he still has the silver
dollar. That good luck charm, coupled with an indomitable
spirit, kept Coons going those 47 horrific days.
“You've just got to do it,” he said. “Think about living to
the next day. I kept telling myself ‘I have to make it, I
have to make it.'”
Janice smiled at her husband.
“He's like that today,” she said, proudly. “He just
doesn't want to give up on anything.”
She said to
this day, Coons will still pull his shirt on as fast as
possible. He can't stand having his eyes covered, and he
can't forget the cave he was held in either.
“It was
all dirt,” he said. “There were candles for light and rooms
had been dug out by the Germans. It looked like they had
prepared it beforehand.”
When he wasn't being beaten
and tortured for information, Coons said they kept him in a
small room with a pile of dirt in the corner that served as
his toilet.
“If you had to go to the bathroom, you
just went right there in the room,” he said. “They made you
cover it up with dirt. It smelled horrible in there.”
After 47 days of hell on Earth, American forces came
across the cave. They used a flame thrower to force the
Germans out. Since Coons was in the back of the cave, the
flames didn't reach him. When he was discovered, the
Americans thought he was a Nazi.
“I kept shouting,
‘I'm American, I'm American,'” he said. “They didn't believe
me. The Germans had been taking our uniforms, wearing them
and trying to pass off as U.S. soldiers.”
Coons was
recaptured, and taken to an American-run POW camp. It took
two weeks for them to verify his identity, and free him.
“They had sent my mom a letter saying I was missing and
presumed dead,” Coons said. “After they found out who I was,
they had to contact her again, and let her know I was
alright.”
The Army sent him to the rest area for
soldiers coming off the battlefield. It was there Coons was
finally able to bathe, shave, receive a clean uniform and
eat real food for the first time in more than two months.
“I barely ate when I was in the cave,” Coons said.
“Every once in a while they would give me a cold potato.”
Despite surviving such a harrowing ordeal, the war
marched on. After 10 days of rest, Coons was sent to the
front lines again, fighting throughout Italy. Then, Dec. 16,
1944, Coons and the rest of the Third Army were asked to
counter the last major German offensive of World War II at
the Battle of the Bulge.
As the largest and
bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of the Bulge saw
roughly 610,000 U.S. soldiers march into the fire. Of those
who went to fight, 19,000 were killed, and about 89,000 were
injured. For Coons, his lucky silver dollar worked its
magic, and he came back unharmed. It was after the battle
that Coons and the rest of the soldiers, who were still
dirty, sweaty and hungry, lined up for an inspection by Gen.
George S. Patton, who at the time commanded the Third Army.
“Old blood and guts was there,” Coons exclaimed, with a
smile on his face. “We had come back from the front, from
the Battle of the Bulge, and had to stand for a full field
inspection. He walked up and down, looking us over. When he
got to me he stopped and said, ‘good work, soldier, you all
did a hell of a job, anything I can do for you?'”
As
a brash, young private first class who had just survived
torture, starvation and the bloodiest battle of the war,
Coons said he swallowed hard, and thought carefully before
answering Patton.
“Yes, Sir,” Coons said. “Before I
leave this man's Army, I would like a star from your
uniform.”
Coons said that Patton paused, and looked
him up and down before walking away. However, something made
Patton stop a few paces past Coons. He looked back at the
young private, turned around and ripped a Silver Star from
his uniform. Patton walked back to Coons and thrust the star
into his hand.
“Boy, you guys got a lot of balls,”
Patton said before turning around and walking away again.
Tearing up again, Coons smiled, remembering the times he
experienced, and the soldiers he knew. In an age where at
least one World War II veteran dies every day, Coons has
carries on, while others he knew and served with have passed
away.
“There's not too many of us left anymore,” he
said. “But, after everything I've seen and done, I'd go back
and do it again in a heartbeat – for the country.”
Coons' patriotism has helped sustain him throughout the
years. He still sees America as a pillar of strength and
opportunity; and he still sees himself as just another
American who went to war when his nation called on him.
“The United States of America means everything to me,”
Coons said, the tears falling freely. “Everything.”
By USAF Senior Airman Jarad Denton
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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