The WWII exploits of my father, 82nd Airborne paratrooper Arthur ‘Dutch’ Schultz have been well documented.

Dad’s stories have struck a responsive chord. In the book by Cornelius Ryan, THE LONGEST DAY, Dad was depicted as an eager, confused and sometimes lost paratrooper dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day. Ryan further followed Dad’s march through Europe by including him in the 1966 chronicle of the final days in Germany, THE LAST BATTLE, and the saga of Market Garden in the 1974 book, A BRIDGE TOO FAR. Decades passed with little recognition for the veterans of “The Good War”. However, as they aged, nostalgia took hold, spurring increased interest in WWII victories. Dad is pictured here in 1942 and then again in his dress uniform in 1945. The group photo was with the 82nd Airborne in Cologne, Germany with Dutch at the front of the truck.

More movies followed with television and its visual impact presenting an ailing Dutch Schultz as one of a select group of WWII veterans who were featured in documentaries on D-Day anniversaries. Only abut 25 percent of the army was assigned to ground combat divisions. In those divisions, only about half the soldiers actually were in battle and exposed to life threatening situations. My dad felt the fear and terror of loss of life, saw or caused death and destruction and while exposed to extreme weather conditions was under constant enemy shelling. He was recognized as a hero, but he never identified as one. He tried hard to let go of the traumas but continued to fight a war within himself for years. He left the killing fields of Europe, but Normandy, Holland and the Ardennes never completely left him.

When I was a little girl, Dad hid the memories except in the still of the night, when he would relive the horror of the war in his nightmares. Dad’s untreated and unacknowledged war trauma contributed to his battle with alcoholism and my parent’s divorce. Our family was a casualty of war.

Please visit and “like” my Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/pages/Daughters-of-D-Day/471455020396
~ Carol Schultz Vento, Author of The Hidden Legacy of World War II, A Daughter’s Journey of Discovery

We are very grateful to Carol for sharing her personal story with Comes A Soldier’s Whisper, where we are all connected. Carol’s book can be purchased through www.sunburypressstore.com/The-Hidden-Legacy-of-World…

God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.

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