I like to say that this retirement business means every day is Saturday, and I can do whatever I want. A favorite pastime for me is driving over to the Bismarck Library or the State Library or the Heritage Center Research Library or the Mandan Library or even the University of Mary Library. A visit to the Bismarck Library yesterday had me coming away with a book entitled Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends; Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story.
The story of the Band of Brothers, Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II received a lot of attention just a few years ago. I watched the movie made of it several times on the History channel. When I discovered that a fellow Sheldonite, Myron Ranney, was a member of that unit, I was especially interested in knowing more. A quick look in the index of Brothers in Battle lists Ranney four times. I found those passages and was reminded I had read something a few years ago that his father wrote in The Sheldon Progress after Myron had enlisted, the elder Ranney being the editor and publisher of the paper. With a quick trip to the Heritage Center this morning, I easily found in their newspaper files what I was looking for. In the August 20, 1942 edition he wrote:
"A letter came this morning from my son, Myron, saying he had volunteered for the paratroop division of the army. Myron is 19 and a former student of the University of N. D. The letter brought a lump in my throat and made it hard for me to work. He was not forced to go. But he loves his country greater than his own security."
I will have to finish reading the book before I can make any further comments on it, but with every day being Saturday I will get to it. This room in my house I call my Study needs straightening and cleaning, but I'll probably get to it some other Saturday.
