World War II Battle of the Bulge and Army veteran Wilbur "Jack" Myers recently met his namesake, "Wilbur," a Warrior Canine Connection service dog in training.
WCC names all its dogs after veterans, past and present, to honor their service and legacy.
Myers, who is currently 101 years old, is one of the last survivors of the Battle of the Bulge. According to a profile by the Department of Veterans Affairs, He was born in June 1923 in Williamsport, Maryland, one of 13 children. In 1930, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government relief program founded during the Great Depression, and he married Kathryn “Katie” Kendle in 1942.
Myers was drafted in 1943 and left Hagerstown, Maryland, on a railroad car with around 45 other men. He was examined in Baltimore, given a uniform and sent to Camp Hood in Texas for basic training. He joined the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion and traveled to Europe in September 1944. The battalion departed from New York and traveled in a convoy to Cherbourg, France.
He served as an antitank gunner and eliminated machine gun nests, observation posts and vehicles. He operated a three-inch anti-tank gun and later worked in a 40-ton M36 tank destroyer. Myers’ battalion supported the 104th Infantry Division in Holland and advanced to Aachen, Germany, and the Siegfried line before joining Patton’s Army at the Battle of the Bulge.
During the battle, the battalion served as defense along the Ruhr River. Myers’ left hand was injured due to an accident with a captured German pistol on March 20, 1945, and he spent the remainder of the war in England. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.
Returning home, he owned and operated The Custom Shop, where he upholstered and refurbished furniture. After six years, he sold his business and worked as a salesman at Martin’s Furniture until his retirement in 2000. His wife, Katie, died of Alzheimer’s after 69 years of marriage. He has three sons and is a grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. He married Mary Jo Kemper in 2014, and the couple lives together in Hagerstown today.
Myers did not speak about the war for 50 years due to “battle fatigue,” which is now referred to as PTSD. Three of the five members of his squad were killed.
“I was in the same outfit the whole time I was in there, so I had been with them for two years,” he said. “To lose a buddy like that – it’s not easy, very emotional. It brings back memories.”
Myers is scheduled to make his 20th return to Normandy for the 81st D-Day Remembrance later this year.
To learn more about Warrior Canine Connection, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.