Published by The Daily Star Newspaper in Oneonta, NY<\/p>\n
Memories invoke writing<\/strong><\/p>\n By Cheryl Petersen<\/p>\n Conveying the word \u201cveteran\u201d in its broadest meanings, 97-year old, John Powers, talks about life and his recent online publication of two stories titled, \u201cThe good deed,\u201d and \u201cThe redemptive omelet.\u201d<\/p>\n The short stories are posted on the National American Legion website. They are historical fiction, complete with scents, noises, feelings, and imagery depicting war.<\/p>\n Written about ten years ago, Powers said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t have written them earlier in life. When I was younger, I wasn\u2019t aware of what I was living. I didn\u2019t know my feelings. I was immature. It required reflection and reminiscing to mature and be able to write what I did. I\u2019m honored my stories got published.\u201d<\/p>\n Born and raised in Oneonta, yet living half a century in Davenport Center, Powers\u2019 memory is so clear, he can see right through it to what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n Fortitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n Always a lightweight, Powers didn\u2019t have the size or speed to excel in sports when in high school. \u201cI weighed 120 pound. But one noon hour at school, I got into a fight with a big guy. A crowd gathered and I knocked him out,\u201d said Powers. \u201cAt the end of the year, the fight was voted by the students as the most exciting event of the year. The school officials didn\u2019t want the vote in the yearbook, but the editor kept it there.\u201d<\/p>\n Powers realized he liked to fight. To keep it legit, he started training as a boxer and went on to compete with other fighters in the New York southern tier region.<\/p>\n In 1944, Powers enlisted in the Army Coast Artillery. \u201cI was stationed in San Diego, California, then shipped to Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands as part of the campaign to keep the enemy out of the northern Pacific,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When the Pacific was secured, the Army shanghaied me into the 10th<\/sup> Mountain Division,\u201d he said, with a sly humor that frequently enters his conversation.<\/p>\n Powers became a member of the 10th<\/sup> Mountain Division of the 87th<\/sup> Mountain Infantry Regiment of Company F.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 3 months, we trained at 7,000\u2019 altitude in Colorado. Then I trained in Texas,\u201d said Powers. \u201cIt was all the same to me. Walking.\u201d<\/p>\n But, it was in Texas that Powers encountered lightweight boxer, Al (Bummy) Davis, who had earlier fought against welterweight champion, Fritzie (Croat Comet) Zivic, at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n \u201cDavis was barred after the fight with Fritzie, and wanted to work his way back up to the title. That\u2019s why he fought me. But the people were behind me,\u201d said Power, who added. \u201cI got to know Bummy personally. Nice guy, but tragic death. He was fearless and tried to stop a robbery. Shot dead in 1945.\u201d<\/p>\n The 10th<\/sup> Mt. Division was shipped to Italy, where Powers served as a Lineman, stringing communication wire on the ground for miles upon miles, thus the walking. All wires convened, \u201cIn a cellar for a central communication,\u201d said Powers, who also had to repair the wires damaged by foes.<\/p>\n It was constant danger. A target for snipers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 10th<\/sup> Mt. Division broke all records. One in ten were killed and five in ten were wounded,\u201d said Powers, who witnessed the worst and the best in humanity in the year before the war ended.<\/p>\n Gratitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n Not only on Veteran\u2019s Day, but every day, Powers, \u201cThinks about other veterans and our experiences. The army was a great experience. I\u2019m a better person for having served. The 10th<\/sup> Mt. Division enlarged my scope of life outside of Oneonta.\u201d<\/p>\n Powers recalled his fellow Division members. \u201cAt first I thought they were nuts. However, a deep respect for them grew in me. They endured hardship, never retreated, and got the job done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After reflecting for a few seconds, Powers added, \u201cVery real friendships develop when you are in combat.\u201d<\/p>\n Powers reminisces with only one regret. \u201cI didn\u2019t say goodbye to all the men,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n When the Division sailed into New York City, the men were relieved and the public showered them with praise.\u00a0 The excitement was distracting and the men got on with their lives. \u201cThe 10th<\/sup> Mt. Division was given a 30-day furlough and I didn\u2019t think to tell the members a proper goodbye. I didn\u2019t stay in contact with many of them,\u201d said Powers, who still holds high regard for his mates.<\/p>\n Otherwise, he never dreams about the war. \u201cI don\u2019t even dream about being in the military. No nightmares,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Civilian Powers returned to Oneonta and married, Clarabelle. \u201cHer sister introduced us. She was peeling potatoes when we met,\u201d said Powers, with an enchanted smile. He\u2019d discovered that Clarabelle had the hots for him. She had cut out Daily Star<\/em> newspaper clippings announcing my receipt of military awards including two bronze awards: Meritorious Service and Heroic Achievement.<\/p>\n Feeling as though he always ran into good luck, Powers worked at Aspen Tree Company, Delaware Hudson Railroad, and then, \u201cThirty years at General Electric, a good place to work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The key to his mastery of goodness and fortune?<\/p>\n \u201cI affirm life,\u201d Powers said.<\/p>\n Magnitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n The talent to reflect on life through the eyes of life itself, rings throughout Powers\u2019 way with words. A sentence from, \u201cA Good Deed,\u201d reads: \u201cTheir company commander, a stocky built, black bearded captain emitted power and enormous physical strength. He held a carbine like it was a toy gun and shook it in impotent rage. His anger at another senseless death galvanized the robotized men in the group who had gathered around the dead soldier.\u201d<\/p>\n Words are familiar to Powers, as he is a prolific reader. When a child, Powers lived near the Huntington Library. \u201cOur backyard was Huntington Park, and Mom sent us to the library all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After retirement, numbers became important as Powers became an avid Bingo player. \u201cI play at the American Legions in Oneonta and Delhi. I also play Bingo at the Elks in Oneonta and Cobleskill. Every chance I can get,\u201d said Powers, offering another short story.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Cobleskill, it was the last game of the night, and I had to go to the bathroom. I told the guy sitting next to me that I only needed one more number to win. When I returned from the bathroom, I\u2019d won $170. Yep, the number 72 was hollered when I was in the john and I got Bingo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Unafraid to use his own first name as another word for the loo, Powers shows it\u2019s the meaning behind the words that comes first.<\/p>\n The meaning behind the resolution to enact Veteran\u2019s Day many years ago, is kept alive as Powers, and others, commemorate November 11, \u201cwith thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.\u201d<\/p>\n In his short stories, Powers also uses words from the Bible. He said, \u201cOnly because using Bible references is part of literature. I\u2019m agnostic.\u201d<\/p>\n True to the spirit though, when getting up to go our separate ways, Powers says with his whole heart, \u201cThanks for coming and God bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n Powers\u2019 stories can be read at: http:\/\/www.legion.org\/stories\/my-time-uniform\/redemptive-omelet<\/a> and http:\/\/www.legion.org\/stories\/my-time-uniform\/good-deed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Published by The Daily Star Newspaper in Oneonta, NY Memories invoke writing By Cheryl Petersen Conveying the word \u201cveteran\u201d in its broadest meanings, 97-year old, John Powers, talks about life and his recent online publication of two stories titled, \u201cThe good deed,\u201d and \u201cThe redemptive omelet.\u201d The short stories are posted on the National American…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[1870,1871,1869],"class_list":["post-3705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community_world","category-at-work","tag-regiment","tag-war","tag-ww-ii"],"yoast_head":"\n