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Their view: Gun restrictions handicap law-abiding citizens under the guise of making them safer

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D-DAY 75: ‘You ducked into your foxholes as much as you could,’ Hughestown native recalls

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; They are called &#8220;The Greatest Generation.&#8221;</p><p>And deservedly so.</p><p>The men and women of the World War II era got this nation through the most difficult of times and while doing it, they made us all very proud.</p><p>That&#8217;s why on this 75th anniversary of D-Day, we must remember them just a little more &#8212; we should remember them every day and we must never forget what they all did to make America great.</p><p>I&#8217;ve known a lot of these men and women &#8212; heroes all.</p><p>I knew one extremely well &#8212; my dad, William O&#8217;Boyle, who like so many, went off to war, never questioning why, to defend our country against oppression and tyranny.</p><p>My dad was on one of those landing boats at Northern France. At the age of 21 he ran off the boat onto a beach, ran up a hill to meet the enemy. He stepped on a land mine and lost his right leg.</p><p>My dad came home and lived with honor his entire life. He got a job, got married, had a son and contributed tirelessly to his community, never once ever asking, &#8220;Why me?&#8221; My dad knew his sacrifice, while significant, was not as great as so many others who knew going in that they may never return.</p><p>My dad was a patriot. He never forgot those who went before him and after him. He knew the importance of serving your country &#8212; in doing your part to protect our freedom.</p><p>It&#8217;s a core belief that we all should have, but I&#8217;m not so sure it runs as deep today as it did in 1944. It&#8217;s a fair concern to at least wonder what would happen if we ever had to face another World War. Would our younger generation be as willing and quick to respond to the call of duty.</p><p>My good friend Dave Roberts also knows what it is to live in a home with a true American patriot. His dad, Edgar, a real bulldog of a man, served as an Army medic in World War II.</p><p>Born in Wales, Edgar Roberts arrived in America at the age of 3 in 1924 and when he was attending Kingston High School, all of his buddies were going off to war, so he wanted to serve his country, too. But when he arrived at the draft board, Roberts was told he couldn&#8217;t join the U.S. military because he was still a British subject.</p><p>That didn&#8217;t deter Roberts. He kept coming back to the draft board daily. He became such a thorn in the side of the recruiters, they found a way to draft him. All he had to do was fill out a form, sign it and away he would go.</p><p>&#8220;I wanted to serve my country,&#8221; Roberts told me in 2015. &#8220;I felt like a slacker.&#8221;</p><p>And Roberts knew freedom never is free.</p><p>We sat on his porch and Roberts, who died Jan. 19, 2016, told me about his friend, Jackie Brace, a high school pal that he used to run around with. Brace went to war and never came back. Roberts told me he remembered Brace every day.</p><p>&#8220;I think about Jackie a lot,&#8221; Roberts said in the shade of his front porch. &#8220;Jackie never had a car. He never had a house. He didn&#8217;t have a girlfriend. He never married and he never had any children. I have all of that. What&#8217;s to complain about?&#8221;</p><p>To honor Brace and all veterans, Roberts for many years would go to Brace&#8217;s grave. He would clean up the weeds around his tombstone and make Brace&#8217;s final resting place look presentable.</p><p>&#8220;He got killed in Iwo Jima,&#8221; Roberts said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the least I could do.&#8221;</p><p>True patriotism at its best.</p><p>&#8220;Sometimes people who are born here take it for granted,&#8221; Roberts said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve always known the value of living in this country.&#8221;</p><p>Roberts had a simple philosophy: If you love your country and benefit from it, then you should be willing to spill your blood defending it.</p><p>Roberts and my dad and all veterans really do bleed red, white and blue.</p><p>So as we pause to remember what happened on June 6, 1944, and we think about the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives for us &#8212; for their (our) country &#8212; let it all sink in.</p><p>Put yourself in their shoes for a few moments. Think about what it was like to get drafted, go off to war and fight for your country.</p><p>Think about those moments on those boats heading for Normandy Beach, knowing that the enemy was waiting on the hill to fire their weapons at you.</p><p>Think about what it must have felt like to know that you may never return to your country, to your hometown, to your loved ones. That you may never marry, have children, hold a job, buy a new car, or have a beer with your pals at the local bar. That this day &#8212; this moment &#8212; might be your last day alive. That your next breath may be your last.</p><p>That you may give your life for your country and all Americans back home.</p><p>And that you were proud to be there and to have the opportunity to help preserve freedom.</p><p>God bless all veterans and God bless America.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Bill-O-Boyle-Sr-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle Sr. circa 1950 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Bill-O-Boyle-Sr-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle Sr. circa 1950 </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

D-DAY 75: My dad and the Greatest Generation