-
September 16, 2021
OK, so I just learned that a friend of mine from the gym passed away last year.
My friend Ed was 96 years old when he died.
His full name was Egon (Ed) E. Friedman.
He had lived a full life - and apparently it was just his time to go.
Sadly, due to the pandemic I had not been able to see Ed for more than a year.
To be honest, I had only really gotten to know Ed over the past few years prior to his passing.
Often, after swimming my laps at the gym I would sit on the side of the hot tub and soak my old legs in the bubbling water.
Almost every time I did this, an older gentleman would be soaking in the hot tub.
He was always talking to someone, telling tall tales and breaking into some clever ditty from the past.
In between his story telling and singing I would occasionally hear him mention that he had been in the Army during WW II.
As someone who had four uncles serve in the war, I decided I had to meet this guy - one of the few remaining members of the Greatest Generation.
So I introduced myself and after telling him about my uncles' service during the war he opened up to me and told me that he had been a Sherman tank commander in the 771st Tank Battalion during the war.
I found out later that he had been awarded two silver stars for gallantry in action against the enemy. He didn't think it was such a big deal.
He also shared that he had been wounded twice and had been awarded two Purple Hearts.
Again, he said it was no big deal because his wounds were what he called "million dollar" wounds.
As Ed explained it, "million dollar" wounds are a type of wound received in combat which is serious enough to get him shipped back from the front but they caused no permanent injury. He said he was one of the lucky ones.
His stories about the war and his life in the service would have made a fascinating book but one day he told me a story that really got my attention and spurred me to action.
He was talking about his service after the war, and he casually mentioned that his roommate in post war Germany was George Patton IV - the son of the famous WW II general about which the 1970 Academy Award winning movie Patton was based.
I asked him what that was like, and he said that while his roommate was a great guy - he had a dog that would constantly jump up into Ed's bunk and fall asleep.
For some reason that story resonated with me, and I told Ed that I've been doing this Internet thing a long time and I bet him five bucks that I could find a picture of that dog.
I had no idea if I could actually find a picture, but I thought it would be fun to try.
I started by searching for "Patton" and "Pet Dog" but all I could find was lots of pictures of the famous General Patton - his roommate's father - and his famous English bull terrier Willie.
Then I decided to try to find a Patton relative who might be able to point me in the right direction.
Well, as luck would have it I found an online article about George Patton IV's family in Smithsonian Magazine.
The article mentioned that George Patton IV's youngest son - Ben Patton - was a documentary film maker and I was able to reach out to him via an email with the subject: Your Father's Roommate
In the email I told him about Ed and that he had been a roommate of his father. I also told him I was looking for a picture of his father and his dog.
I acknowledged that most people would be looking for a picture of his grandfather and his dog but there are plenty of those.
Less than an hour later I got a response from Ben. He said he was forwarding my email to his older siblings and his mom.
About a week later, Ben sent me an email saying that he had found a picture of his dad and his dog - who was named George.
A couple of days later, Ben sent me a second picture of George.
A few days later I saw Ed at the gym and told him I had a surprise for him. I told him to meet me in the lobby after his workout.
When I got there, he was sitting with his wife Dottie and I asked him if he remembered our "bet" about his roommate's dog.
He said yes, of course but he never thought I would be able to find a picture.
I had printed the picture out and pulled it from behind my back and presented it to him.
When he saw it a big smile appeared on his face.
I had a pretty big smile on my face as well.
I miss Ed and all the other members of the Greatest Generation I have had the privilege of getting to know.
Thank you, Ed - for your service and friendship.
