Honoring comrades who gave away their

tomorrows for our todays -- no questions asked

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Paul Wojahn of rural New Ulm talked about his World War II active duty with the First Marines as he watched the Memorial Day parade on Minnesota Street Monday.

Growing up in Mulligan Township near Comfrey, he completed the eighth grade. Wojahn was working at Douglas Aircraft in California in 1940 when he learned that he would be replaced by a woman after the coming draft.

"I wrote on back of my draft notice that I'll be gone by the time you get this," Wojahn said. He moved back to Minnesota, helped with the fall harvest before enlisting in the Marines in Minneapolis.

He landed in the Western Pacific in New Britain, New Guinea, Pelelieu and Okinawa. He lost several good Marine buddies during landings at New Britain and Pelelieu.

Wojahn talked about his final moments with one of his friends.

"He was shot through the throat. The bullet must have hit his jugular vein," Wojahn said. "I helped carry him off the ridge."

His unit was considered the jack of all trades. Its soldiers brought supplies for the infantry in front of them. Demolition of bridges and and rails was another duty he was trained for.

Shrapnel was a continual issue. It punctured vehicle tires, causing Wojahn to change seven of ten vehicle tires one day.

He had no life-threatening injuries. Arches in his feet were damaged from jumping out of trucks with full packs on.

Military service was a way of life for the Wojahn family. Five boys completed service hitches. Two of his brothers served 20 years in the Navy as aircraft machinist mates.

One of them served on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet that served as an at-sea runway for General Doolittle and his Raiders that bombed Tokyo in the middle of the war.

Wojahn worked for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for 25 years. He worked 21 years as a game warden in Swift County and four years at the New Ulm office as a Safety Specialist, teaching firearms and snowmobile safety courses.

At the Memorial Day Observance at the New Ulm Cemetery, Minnesota Valley Lutheran graduate Mark Thiesfeldt read the Gettysburg Address.

Tim Guldan, a 2004 Cathedral graduate, talked about former National Football League star Pat Tillman who traded his life of fame and fortune for Army fatigues, stress, danger and an $18,000 a year salary before he died in Afghanistan.

"His death was a reminder that it's been a bloody year for our freedom fighters," Guldan said. "War is cruel and brutal. It tears apart the human body and destroys the mind. Honor all those that served and died, standing up for freedom through the trials of war."

Following musical selections from the New Ulm Municipal Band and the Concord Singers and a traditional salute by the New Ulm Comrades of Valor Honor Guard, the New Ulm Battery fired three cannon shots that echoed several times across the Minnesota River valley.

Following a moment of silence for all deceased veterans in Brown County over the past year, taps was played by Sam Arsers followed by an echo by Roman Kahle.

Following the National Anthem, master of ceremonies Milen Speckman reminded the audience that Memorial Day was intended to honor comrades who gave away their tomorrows for our todays, no questions asked.