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When Duty Called
Copyright 1998 Magnolia Press
Athens, Alabama
These remembrances of World War II are excerpts from When Duty
Called, a compilation of Limestone County, Alabama, veterans war
stories by Athens attorney Jerry R. Barksdale.
They were a natural outgrowth of the reverence Barksdale held as a
child for his Uncle James Burch, a WWII veteran:
“At my insistence, he would climb the ladder into the attic, open
his dusty Army footlocker, and bring down his war relics for me to
see. I remember a German Luger, bayonet, Hitler Youth dagger, a
large Nazi banner and various medals. Uncle James used the dagger
each fall when he butchered hogs. Of course I understood nothing of
the cause, nor immensity of the war that consumed 50 million lives
worldwide. I only knew that Uncle James was my hero. He still is
today.
“He finally told me his story on the 50th anniversary of the
Normandy Invasion. He told me he had served four years in the Navy,
most of the time aboard the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma, which later
went down at Pearl Harbor. He was discharged from the Navy in 1940
and then drafted into the Army. He served in the Third Army under
Gen. George S. Patton, who pinned him with the Bronze Star. I was
hooked. I wrote his story and it was published in our local
newspaper.
“Over the next four years I interviewed dozens of WWII veterans. I
listened to their stories, many I sensed were being revealed for the
first time. I witnessed them shake and sob. I loved them all. May
their deeds live forever in the hearts of free people.”
Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book goes to benefit the
Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives.
When Duty Called
Soft cover
484 pages
Indexed
$24.95
Order by writing Jerry R. Barksdale,
Magnolia Press, 212 S. Marion St., Athens, AL 35611
or call (256) 233-0525.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
All requests for permission to reproduce material from this work
should be directed to Jerry R. Barksdale, 212 S. Marion St., Athens,
AL 35611
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