試すGOLD- Free

PRIVATE HATHAWAY COMES HOME

Reader's Digest US|May 2023
Decades after he was killed in World War II, a soldier is reunited with his family
- Steve Goldstein
PRIVATE HATHAWAY COMES HOME

It was just another day in November 1944 when 12-year-old Wilma Hathaway rode home on the school bus in Hinesburg, Vermont. Just another day, that is, until the driver shared with the children what he'd heard through the grapevine: Pvt. Alwin A. Hathaway-Wilma's older brother-was missing and presumed killed in action in Germany.

Every eye on the bus swept toward Wilma, whose face turned rigid with shock. When the bus reached her stop, she leaped out and ran into her house, where she saw the horror of affirmation in her mother's face; Lola Hathaway had received a telegram from the United States Army. Wilma dropped her books and ran out the back door into the woods.

As Wilma Hallock, nee Hathaway, recounted this long-ago memory from her daughter Starlene Poulin's home in Williston, Vermont, where she lives, the 90-year-old widow did the same thing she had done 78 years earlier: She shook with sobs.

Hallock describes her brother as "something of a daredevil" who had a tendency to "get into mischief."

"He was so tall. He used to walk me to school and taught me how to throw a fastball-which came in handy when I got mad," she recalls. "Alwin was a good brother."

Alwin was drafted in February 1942, "as soon as he turned 18," Hallock says. "My parents didn't want Hitler taking over-but they didn't want to give up their son, either."

Mother and daughter agreed that Pvt. Hathaway looked smart in his uniform, and Hallock says he had a serious girlfriend he met in England whom he intended to marry and bring home. But he never came home.

The wages of war are paid in blood, tears and body bags. Loved ones in their prime, once bursting with bravado, are sent home in flag-draped coffins. But what happens when Johnny is not marching home because he can't be found? When, as in the case of Pvt. Hathaway, he's presumed dead, but there is no body? 

この記事は Reader's Digest US の May 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Reader's Digest US の May 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

READER'S DIGEST USのその他の記事すべて表示
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Reader's Digest US

FULL SPEED AHEAD

THE TEEN WAS TRAPPED IN A CAR ACCELERATING OUT OF CONTROL. COULD IT BE STOPPED BEFORE HE RAN OUT OF ROAD?

time-read
10+ 分  |
July 2025
Reader's Digest US

News FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE

If you're trying to lose weight, drinking carbonated water might help your efforts at least a little.

time-read
1 min  |
July 2025
YES, DRIVING IS MORE DANGEROUS NOW
Reader's Digest US

YES, DRIVING IS MORE DANGEROUS NOW

After decades of declining fatality rates, more people are speeding, plowing through intersections, and driving impaired

time-read
10+ 分  |
July 2025
Beat the Heat
Reader's Digest US

Beat the Heat

How to stay cool when temperatures soar

time-read
3 分  |
July 2025
Gripper the Class Turtle
Reader's Digest US

Gripper the Class Turtle

IN 1993, A student at my wife's elementary school brought in a box turtle he'd found in the wild. My wife agreed to keep Gripper as a pet for her second grade class.

time-read
1 min  |
July 2025
‘Without You I Wouldn't Be Alive Anymore’
Reader's Digest US

‘Without You I Wouldn't Be Alive Anymore’

A Georgia grandmother and a young German man are forever connected, thanks to a lifesaving donation

time-read
7 分  |
July 2025
Your Wish Has Been Granted
Reader's Digest US

Your Wish Has Been Granted

Seniors are seeing their dreams come true, thanks to a former Olympic athlete

time-read
3 分  |
July 2025
DIG IN!
Reader's Digest US

DIG IN!

CLASSIC COMFORT FOODS FROM ALL 50 STATES

time-read
8 分  |
July 2025
SUN, FUN & PLASTIC SURGERY?
Reader's Digest US

SUN, FUN & PLASTIC SURGERY?

Americans are packing their bags and heading abroad for more affordable health care. Is that a good idea?

time-read
10+ 分  |
July 2025
Warning: This Fruit May Orbisculate!
Reader's Digest US

Warning: This Fruit May Orbisculate!

Two siblings honor their father by trying to get his made-up word into the dictionary

time-read
4 分  |
July 2025

当サイトではサービスの提供および改善のためにクッキーを使用しています。当サイトを使用することにより、クッキーに同意したことになります。 Learn more