Killed in Action
March 29, 1943Dearest Reader,
This is one of those pieces of history that doesn’t come from a monument or museum, but from something saved and carried forward without explanation.
I found this newspaper clipping among my parent’s papers. It’s narrow and worn, but once I stopped to read it, it holds my attention;
At the top are the words: “Killed in Action – March 29, 1943“
The name below: Captain Robert E. Atkinson
He was a Concord High School graduate, part of the Army Air Corps, and rose quickly through the ranks: First Lieutenant in 1941, Captain in 1942. His service took him far from New Hampshire: Puerto Rico, Trinidad, China. He was flying with the Flying Tigers, when he was killed over Burma during the war.
His brother, Captain Nelson R. Atkinson, had already been killed in 1941, also flying with the Flying Tigers.
Two sons, both pilots, both lost.
The clipping says it plainly, in the language of the time, without pause or commentary. It even notes that “unavoidable circumstances made burial impossible.” A sentence that must have carried a weight beyond the words when it was first read.
In 1943, my father was in the service. I can imagine my mother reading the newspapers, searching for news about the war. Clipping articles and holding onto them. There was a connection and shared uncertainty.
History isn’t only what we build to remember. Sometimes, it’s what we choose not to throw away.
Dr. Nancy Watson
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