Local veteran is true American hero
Valor is stability, not of legs or arms, but of courage and the soul. - Michel de Montaigne
June 25, 1950 began as a typical warm, summer day for Tilman Crody as he worked building a fence on Thompson Farm in Highland Township. Like most carefree 17-year-old boys, when not working on the farm, Crody spent his time hanging out with friends or swimming in the local water hole on hot summer days.
However, the news he heard that day changed his life forever.
Upon learning that 75,000 North Korean People's Army troops poured across the 38th Parallel boundary between North and South Korea, Crody wondered how that news would affect him.
"If that meant war for the United States, I knew I would want to volunteer," Crody said.
The next month, July, American troops entered the war on South Korea's behalf, and Crody was raring to go.
However, his parents had a different opinion. After losing a son in WWII, they weren't anxious to sign papers for another son to volunteer for military service. Crody was one of 10 brothers and two sisters. A patriotic family, three boys and one sister served in the U.S. Military during World War II, and his brother, Harold, a Marine, was killed in action.
In a few months, the situation changed. Crody celebrated his 18th birthday and could enlist without his parents' consent. He volunteered in the U.S. Army in March 1951. After training at Ft. Custer, Camp Atterbury and Ft. Bragg, Crody was sent to Germany.
He had the choice of staying in Germany to complete his two years of military service, but once again, Crody wasn't satisfied. Always adventurous, he wanted to go where there was action, and volunteered to go to Korea. He was assigned to the Fifth Regimental Combat Team.
Hunkering in trenches during the day, Crody's duty was patrolling along the 38th Parallel at night.
On one of those patrols, he stepped over the 38th Parallel onto a land mine. Both legs were gone.
Crody was sent to one of the famous M*A*S*H units for observation and then to Japan on a hospital ship.
Later, Crody was brought back to the US and spent months recuperating at an Army hospital in Battle Creek, Mich. He says the therapy that helped him most was swimming every day in the hospital pool.
The heroic bravery that Crody has shown has gone way beyond his valor on the battlefield. Without complaining or ever saying, "why me," or asking for special favors, Crody has gone on, quietly, to lead a productive life. He married, and he and his wife, Marian, raised a family.
He operates his farm and also helps his son, Gary, with farm work.
One might see him on a tractor, working in his garden or swimming with his grandsons in the pond adjacent to his property.
A patriotic, and true American, he has never let his disability make him bitter or hinder him from enjoying life. Unable to wear prosthesis, he can move faster without legs than most people with two. His courageous life is a testimony.
When asked about that terrible night in September 1951 when he stepped on a land mine, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "No big deal."
Before the truce in 1953, 5 million soldiers and civilians were killed during the Korean War. Of those, 40,000 were Americans.
Wedged between WWII and the Vietnam War, the media didn't give much attention to the Korean War, hence the term The Forgotten War. However for veterans like Crody, every day is a reminder.
Tragedy for the family didn't end with Tilman. His parents lost another son and a grandson in the Vietnam War.
I haven't written a viewpoint for several months, but this story of one of the bravest, local heroes that I have ever known has been on my heart to share.
Jo is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by email at tojo631@sbcglobal.net.
- -- Posted by Tiffany Crody on Wed, Aug 17, 2016, at 6:48 PM
- -- Posted by CRAZEDFAN101232 on Sat, Aug 20, 2016, at 8:37 PM
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