Veterans' selfless service

'Some gave all, all gave some'

Some gave all, all gave some.

Millions of men and women who have served in the United States’ armed forces have come to understand the reality of that statement in the nation’s 233-year history. On Wednesday, people will honor their service at Veteran’s Day ceremonies across the the country.

It is a day that touches Bennett Cockrell, who served in the Army during the Korean War, every year.

“It means a lot that people would give their lives for freedom. Not only for the freedom that they might have but for the generations to come to keep us free from the enemy,” Cockrell said.

On this day, Americans remember the almost 3 million veterans alive today who served in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Global War on Terror.

Here are some of their stories.

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Marvin Sherrod: World War II

Marvin Sherrod was a 20-year-old farm boy in Nash County when he was drafted into the Army Air Force in March 1943. After basic training in St. Petersburg, Fla., he was assigned to the military police for several months at March Field Air Force Base in Southern California before being transferred to a base in Texas for infantry training.

In early 1945, he arrived in England and was sent in March to Germany and assigned as an ammunition bearer in a machine gun squad in the 311th Infantry Regiment. Days quickly began to run into each other for Sherrod as the American forces advanced further into Germany, but one stood out among the rest.

It was in late March or early April. The regiment moved into a wooded area next to an open field at night. He dug in and put his field jacket, mess gear, rifle and the ammunition for his rifle and the machine guns next to the hole. Then the soldiers waited.

The next afternoon, haystacks in the field began moving. They were camouflaged tanks with German soldiers sitting on top of them, and they were advancing.

“They got so close I could hear the motors on the tanks. I could hear the Germans talking to each other on the tanks. ... At that time, you feel death is imminent. I am in the hole. I can’t look out and see what is going on. You just sit there waiting for whatever,” said Sherrod, 86, of Rocky Mount.

The Americans fired machine guns trying to kill the Germans sitting on the tanks. The tanks returned fire, one round hitting the gear next to Sherrod’s foxhole. He was shaken but unharmed. A nearby squad fired an anti-tank round and missed, but the tanks still retreated.

The regiment continued to advance against the German forces until the war ended in May. Sherrod stayed in Germany until early 1946 as part of the army of occupation. He was discharged as soon as he reached Fort Bragg.

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Bennett Cockrell: Korean War

The Korean War already was in full swing when Bennett Cockrell joined the Army in November 1951. After basic and airborne training, he became a military police officer. He and 49 other soldiers received their orders to go to Korea in October 1952.

A month later, Cockrell arrived in Japan and was assigned to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. He spent the next several months as part of an experimental company training, driving one of six jeeps mounted with a 105mm howitzer.

“You could shoot 500 feet, but you would have to shoot and run because the enemy could see you. You got your sight, shot them and then you moved your vehicle,” said Cockrell, 77, of Rocky Mount.

In June 1954, the regiment set up camp three miles from the frontline in the Chowan Valley in South Korea. He pulled guard duty that first night and could see the fighting from camp. It sounded like a thunderstorm and looked like fireworks at the state fair, he said.

June 29, 1953, was one of the most memorable in his life for two reasons. Late that night, he would be shot in his leg, a wound that caused him to be sent home and led to longterm paralysis. The memory remains too hard to talk about for him.

But earlier in the day, Cockrell had a moment he remembers with pride. His company’s commander had been a cook in his civilian life to Gen. Joseph Lawton “Lightning Joe” Collins, who was Army chief of staff during the Korean War. When Cockrell drove the company leader to an airfield where Collins was arriving, the officer introduced the younger soldier to the general. It was a proud moment for a private first class.