HARRY RAY WHITE
A Lesson from America’s Greatest Generation
By Harry Ray White’s Son-in-Law — John A. Romero
I have had the pleasure of traveling from the gold coast of California to our nation’s capital a dozen or more times. With my seatbelt fastened and my forehead resting on the window, I have looked down and wondered about life in small town America. With no one to disagree, I am confident in my ability to find the town square, the main street, and the high school. At 530 miles per hour and at cruising altitude, each small town in the flyover states garners but a moment of my fleeting attention.
This last week I took leave from the police department and from school, allowing meetings to be postponed and due dates to loom large on the horizon. But this time it was not for lack of discipline; it was that I might consider the township of Centerville Iowa and one of her favored sons. In doing so, I have a better appreciation for the term the Greatest Generation and why American Journalist Tom Brokaw coined the term to describe those who grew up in the United States during the Great Depression and then went on to fight in World War II or to support the war effort.
Harry Ray White was the epitome of Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation. He lived through the toughest of circumstance in the Great Depression; he fought in Patton’s Army, and then helped to rebuild the United States of America. Like many in the Greatest Generation, Harry believed that there was a line between right and wrong, and that there was never a right way to do a wrong thing.
Harry Ray White was born to Ray Henry White and Pauline Alta Inglish White on November 18, 1923 in Centerville, the county seat of Appanoose County Iowa. The discovery of coal and America’s demand for energy brought jobs and people to Centerville. With immigrants from over 40 different countries of origin, Centerville was a microcosm of the nation. But by the time of Harry’s birth in 1923, Centerville’s population had peaked and so had the demand for coal. There were serious challenges on the horizon for Centerville and for Harry its newest son.
Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide ban on the sale, production and transportation of alcohol pursuant to the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Prohibition was the law of the land from 1920 until it was repealed in 1933. Perhaps the result of the hearty drinking traditions of Centerville’s community of immigrants or for some other reason, Appanoose County led the state of Iowa in Prohibition related arrests. In 1921 the average number of arrests per county in Iowa was 21. In Appanoose county the number of arrests in 1921 was 63.
Harry would have been just a boy in Centerville when there were sightings of notorious criminals such as Al “Scarface” Capone, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, “Baby Faced” Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, and “Machine Gun” Kelly. In fact, the main gunman from Al Capone’s St. Valentines Day Massacre, hid from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and lived under an assumed name just 20 miles outside of Centerville. The Klu Klux Klan arrived in force in 1923 and attempted to dominate the town. Under the threat of violence, the town resisted the KKK movement and their message of hate and supremacy.
If the deck was not already stacked against success, Harry moved from Centerville without his parents and without a high school diploma to the quad-city metropolis of Moline, Illinois. Tall, handsome, strong, personable, and smart, Harry found work and a girl named Glenne Norman. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States was a year into World War II when Uncle Sam came looking for Harry. Harry wanted to be married before he went to war, but Glenne thought it best to wait for his return.
Harry White served as an artillery mechanic and fought in the Rhineland campaign and the Ardennes Counteroffensive, which reporters would later dub the Battle of the Bulge. Harry was not one to show emotion easily, but he would get choked-up in recalling his experiences during the Central Europe Campaign near the end of the war. It was during the Central Europe Campaign that Harry helped to liberate the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Harry recalled the celebratory cheers of soldiers upon hearing the news of the war’s end.
Harry returned to Moline, Illinois and married Glenne Norman. She had waited for him just as she had promised. Promises were more than just words to the Greatest Generation and for Harry and Glenne until death do us part was non-negotiable. Setbacks and unachieved goals were not permanent; Harry earned his high school diploma at night and would go on to teach college courses. Harry held a federal security clearance and worked in California on classified projects in defense of the United States of America. “Secret” was not open to interpretation based on situational ethics or contractor discretion.
On Wednesday evening August 20, 2014, Harry Ray White lay still in his hospital bed, loved ones at his side. Once country strong and well over six feet tall, on this day Harry’s every breath was a challenge. His once rough hands were now soft, but they still showed evidence of a long journey. Harry witnessed extreme attacks on the homeland, from Pearl Harbor to 9/11. He lived through times of poverty and affluence. Harry used the penny postcard and eBay. Harry understood clearly how a person could choose to die for his beliefs – he would have chosen a thousand deaths before denying his faith in Jesus Christ.
Harry had been at his own grandmother’s bedside when she passed with confidence into Heaven. Harry treasured that memory his entire life. On August 20, 2014, at about 7:20 pm, Harry opened his eyes; they were vivid hazel contrasting against a pure white and absent even a hint of fear or panic. Then his breathing slowed to a stop and his heart followed a minute later. As today’s leaders face seemingly new challenges, over 500 of the Greatest Generation die every single day and with them experiences that would serve us well to remember.
