A4
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
BOOK REVIEW
Closing the circle
D
on Malarkey, who grew up in
Astoria, found forgiveness late in
life, then a measure of peace.
Better still, he gave the same to Fritz
Engelbert, a former German soldier who
fought American troops in the vicinity
of Malarkey’s Easy Company during the
Battle of the Bulge.
That’s the encouraging message that
emerges from “Saving My Enemy: How
Two WWII Soldiers Fought Against Each
Other and Later Forged a Friendship
That Saved Their Lives,” a new book by
former Register-Guard columnist Bob
Welch, published by Regnery History.
Welch was the co-author of Malarkey’s
autobiography, “Easy
Company Soldier.”
By now, the story of
Easy Company is well
known to many. Histo-
rian Stephen Ambrose
chose to focus on the
remarkable exploits of
MIKE
the company of Airborne
FRANCIS
soldiers for his book
“Band of Brothers.” Tom
Hanks and Steven Spielberg collaborated
to produce the story for an HBO movie in
a series that was celebrated for its realism
and compassion.
Had it not been for the work of
Ambrose and Hanks, few would have
known the name of Don Malarkey. He
was a non commissioned offi cer in a com-
pany of soldiers that parachuted into
France and eventually fought its way into
Germany, suff ering extreme hardship and
heavy casualties along the way. He rep-
resented thousands of Americans — and
British, and Australians, and Canadians
and Soviets — who fought more than 75
years ago to roll back the advances by
German forces under Adolf Hitler.
Malarkey was a regular Astoria guy
in the 1930s and 1940s. He helped battle
the Tillamook Burn, worked as a seiner
on the Columbia and generally lived the
lively life of a young man in the middle
of the last century. “Saving My Enemy”
mentions an episode from his youth that
Astorians can picture with a squint: A
group of three boys, releasing a tire at the
intersection of 14th Street and Jerome
and watching it crash through downtown,
bounce high off a railroad tie and splash
satisfyingly into an empty slip.
What innocence existed in those days
vanished after the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor and the advance of Hitler’s
forces through Europe. Like hundreds
of thousands of young people, Malarkey
rushed to enlist, which is how he ended
up in the 101st Airborne Division.
On the other side of the world, Fritz
Engelbert heard and heeded the stir-
ring call of a charismatic chancellor who
promised Germans their nation’s glory
would be restored after the humiliations
of World War I. Engel-
bert was an enthusias-
tic member of the Hitler
Youth, whose mem-
bers were drafted into
the front lines by Nazi
military leaders. Engel-
bert never questioned
the choices; if anything,
he was eager to join the
fi ght.
Welch tells the story
in interweaving chapters,
tracking Malarkey and
Engelbert as they expe-
rience the war, and then
returning home when
the fi ghting ends. They had some things
in common: Both were disappointed by
their fathers; each was a patriot respond-
ing to what they saw as higher callings.
One came home to a brash and victorious
America; the other to a deeply damaged
country that was awakening to the mad-
ness that had swept them in.
If “Saving My Enemy” stopped there,
it would add little to the store of knowl-
edge surrounding World War II. The
stories of Malarkey and Engelbert are
absorbing, but familiar. Like many young
men in many countries, they went to war,
fi ghting their own internal battles as they
engaged in a greater, historic fi ght. They
came home with no serious physical inju-
ries, but were deeply aff ected, emotion-
ally and morally. Malarkey’s own family
found him diffi cult to live with, especially
as he medicated himself with alcohol.
This painful reckoning is the leg-
acy of battle, as poets and writers have
recognized since Homer wrote the
“Iliad,” tracing Odysseus’s 10-year jour-
ney home after the Trojan War. Post war
trauma and moral injury is a profoundly
human response to horror. In “Slaughter-
house-Five,” Kurt Vonnegut Jr. described
it as “becoming unstuck in time,” when
the survivor suddenly fi nds himself back
on the battlefi eld, in a prison camp or a
military hospital.
Many societies sought to address this
by reintegrating their returning warriors
with ceremonies and rituals. As David
Morris describes in his superb “The Evil
Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder,” medieval cultures often
prescribed ceremonies
of penance that were
meant to cleanse and
purify people who had
been required to kill oth-
ers. For example, after
the Battle of Hastings, a
ruling council instructed
“Anyone who knows
that he killed a man in
the Great Battle must do
penance for one year for
each man that he killed.”
Other societies, from the
Maasai Tribe in Africa to
the Polynesian culture of
New Zealand, have cer-
emonies to welcome warriors, drawing a
line between the war and the peace.
The United States and Germany had
no such program after World War II,
sending soldiers unceremoniously home
to pick up the threads of their lives —
threads that were often frayed or broken
by the shattering experiences of battle.
It’s not surprising that men like Engel-
bert and Malarkey retreated into bit-
terness, anger or self-medication after
they returned home.
It’s a blessing that the stories of Malar-
key and Engelbert took an encouraging
turn six decades after the fi ghting ended,
at an Easy Company reunion. Thanks to
the “Band of Brothers” book and movie,
the Americans were heroes, larger than
life, even among other veterans.
In 2004, someone had the idea of
inviting German veterans to attend a
reunion. Not every Easy Company vet-
eran was enthusiastic about the idea, but
ultimately they agreed to allow their for-
mer enemies to join them at the inn in
Hammersbach, a town near Frankfurt.
Franck Prevel/AP Photo
Don Malarkey was a World War II paratrooper
who was awarded the Bronze Star after
parachuting behind enemy lines at Normandy
to destroy German artillery on D-Day.
Into this uncertain welcome walked
a reluctant Engelbert, persuaded by his
own sons to attend in hopes the expe-
rience would dispel “the dark clouds”
that had shadowed him since Germany’s
defeat.
Without spilling the details, the
story emerges of an unlikely friendship
between the old Oregon veteran and his
German counterpart. It was a friendship
that thrived despite the language barrier,
their advanced ages and the great dis-
tance that separated them. They didn’t
have much time to develop their bond,
but they did as well as they could have,
and each found a kind of redemption they
didn’t expect.
Welch tells this story at a necessary
distance. Though he knew Malarkey well
after co-writing his autobiography, he
didn’t learn much of his connection to
Engelbert until after Malarkey had died.
And by the time he wrote “Saving My
Enemy,” Engelbert had died, too.
But the families and friends of both
men helped fi ll in the gaps, which allows
“Saving My Enemy” to join the thin
ranks of books about closing the circle
in the lives of people who fought. It’s a
story that brings a note of grace to per-
haps the greatest tragedy of the 20th
century.
Mike Francis is a longtime Oregon
journalist who has extensively covered
military and veterans issues. He resides
on Astoria’s South Slope.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dismayed
A
nyone who has driven into Portland recently must be
dismayed by the proliferation of homeless encamp-
ments. Eventually, Portland and Multnomah County will
have to deal with this situation.
Recently, the city and county of Los Angeles were
ordered by a federal judge to fi nd shelter within 180 days for
all the homeless people who are currently occupying dan-
gerous locations near bridges and highways.
Were Portland to come under a similar judicial order, it
is very likely that some fraction of the homeless in Port-
land would migrate to Astoria or other locations in Clatsop
County. If that were to happen, we would not be able to han-
dle the consequences.
Over the past several years, the mayor of Astoria’s home-
lessness solutions task force has not proposed anything
actionable to the City Council. The Clatsop County commis-
sion has not prioritized action on this issue until fi scal 2022.
Meanwhile, local law enforcement, our two hospital
emergency departments and Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare
represent the principal resources in our communities avail-
able to deal with a multifaceted problem that has not been
successfully addressed by far wealthier cities and counties.
Additional resources are provided by Clatsop Commu-
nity Action, Helping Hands, Feeding Empty Bellies and the
Astoria Warming Center. But none of these groups is ade-
quately staff ed or funded.
Our local shortage of aff ordable housing makes recruit-
ing professionals almost impossible. If, like Los Angeles,
we were given 180 days to come up with viable solutions, a
crisis would ensue, as we are not prepared.
BARRY PLOTKIN
Astoria
Defend
D
id you know that there are two ways of adding amend-
ments to our U.S. Constitution under Article V?
One: Three-fourths of the state legislatures, and two-
thirds of both houses of Congress, agree to it. This is the
only way used in the past.
Two: Three-fourths of the state legislatures call for an
Article V constitutional convention. Some state legisla-
tures have called for an Article V Constitutional Convention
as far back as the 1700s and 1800s. Oregon is one of these
states. These resolutions are still on the books.
The danger of an Article V convention is that there are
no regulations as to how delegates are to be chosen. There
are no limits to the power of an Article V convention to add
amendments, or even to rewrite the Constitution.
In recent years, a group of the super-wealthy have been
working behind the scenes to get more and more state leg-
islatures to call for an Article V constitutional convention.
They only need six more states. They hope to rewrite the
Constitution in their favor.
Common Cause is the only bipartisan grassroots citizens
lobby that is working to prevent this, by warning state legis-
latures of the dangers.
Common Cause is also working to get Oregon, Wash-
ington state, Illinois and New York to rescind their outdated
resolutions.
To fi nd out more about this, and what you can do to help,
visit defendourconstitution.org
CAROLYN GEIGER
Warrenton
Proud
T
hrough the isolation and hardship associated with the
global pandemic, the importance of our connection to
others — personally and professionally — has come into
sharp focus. While Hampton Lumber remained operational
this past year, we are very aware this would not have been
possible without dozens of local businesses.
In Northwest Oregon, we contract with 48 family-owned
businesses to help us grow, harvest and move wood from
the forest to the sawmill. Reforestation crews, loggers, road
builders, surveyors, wildlife biologists, truckers and engi-
neers are the backbone of the local forest sector.
The businesses we contract with, and their nearly 800
employees, are critical to local wood manufacturing. On
behalf of all Hampton Lumber employees, I want to thank
our contractors for their hard work and professionalism this
year.
The work has never been easy even in “normal” times.
Long days, challenging terrain, isolated locations and unpre-
dictable, and sometimes severe, weather. They work through
it all, and keep our mills and the communities in which we
operate vibrant and sustainable.
In the midst of a global pandemic, our industry and com-
munities also grappled with one of the most destructive
wildfi re events in recent memory. Foresters and loggers
worked alongside state forestry and emergency managers to
help protect their communities.
Now that recovery is underway, many are hard at work
with salvage logging and reforestation eff orts to help
restore forestland and keep people safe.
To all our contractors out there, we are proud to call
you our friends and partners.
STEVE ZIKA
Portland
Disappointed
I
am disappointed that the Clatsop County commis-
sioners have asked the governor to lift COVID-19
restrictions.
They say it’s unfair to impose greater restrictions on
restaurants and bars than on other businesses. It’s not
unfair, because restaurants and bars have a higher risk of
COVID-19 transmission than other businesses. The Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention still says indoor
THE ASTORIAN’S CHOICES
FOR TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS
Clatsop Community College Board of Education
• Zone 2, Position 2 (four-year term): Sara Meyer*
• Zone 2, Position 3 (four-year term): Robert Duehmig*
• Zone 3, Position 6 (two-year term): Suzanne Iverson
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District Board of Directors
• Position 1 (four-year term): Su Coddington*
• Position 2 (four-year term): Celeste Bodner*
• Position 3 (four-year term): Patrick Duhachek
• Position 4 (two-year term): Erika Marshall Hamer*
• Position 5 (two-year term): Katharine Parker*
*Denotes incumbent
dining with people outside your household, without masks
or social distancing and inadequate ventilation, is “highest
risk” for transmission.
They say state restrictions are unnecessary because
there hasn’t been a workplace superspreader event in the
hospitality industry here. But cases have risen sharply
since restrictions were eased.
The commissioners imply that Oregon Health Author-
ity is incompetent, and want to “do our own thing.” But
what happens in Clatsop County doesn’t stay in Clatsop
County. The hospitality industry pulls people here from all
over. People can bring COVID-19 here, and they can take
it wherever they go.
Initial problems coordinating between the county and
the state were understandable, given the novelty, scale
and complexity of the problem. We need OHA’s perspec-
tive and support. We need the county and state to work
together.
Because our economy is so dependent on tourism,
COVID-19 restrictions are especially hard on restaurants
and bars. But the governor and OHA are not “arbitrarily”
picking on them. There are solid reasons to continue
restrictions until most of the population is vaccinated.
This is where we should be putting our energy.
MARGARET MURDOCK
Gearhart