Journal of Sacred Work

Ray and Emily – Why The War Still Matters

…in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.
-Part of the lead in language to The War, a Ken Burns film, on PBS www.pbs.org

Emily_lewis_also Medic_leopold    They probably never met. But the two people to your left are living witnesses to what caregiving was like during a war that killed tens of millions of people. And they are among the many who tell their stories on the astonishing Ken Burns series, The War, still running on PBS. We owe it to them to watch, and to get our children and friends to watch, this powerful series.
   What was it like to care for wounded soldiers in the days after the Normandy invasion? Ray and Emily were there…   

Dday   Ray Leopold started the war as a regular soldier. Shot in the thigh in the months after the D-Day landing, he did such a good job dressing his own wound that an officer made him a medic. During the bloody and crucial Battle of the Bulge, Leopold displayed courage and compassion caring for the wounded and the dead. Along the way, he had an extra worry. As a Jew, if he was taken prisoner by the Nazis, he would likely be tortured and shot.
  Medic Leopold took his dog tags, marked with an H for Hebrew, and stuffed them into his glove. In case of capture, he planned to throw them into the snow. He carried his Stretcherdog tags this way for twelve harrowing days.
    During the same Battle of the Bulge, flight nurse Emily Lewis was stuck on the ground for eleven days in one of the coldest winters ever. Braving temperatures that neared fifty below, she ministered to the sick and wounded as they were carried home from the battlefield.
Emily_lewis Leopold    The work of caregiving is always difficult. But caregivers usually don’t have to fear for their own lives. During the winter of 1944-45, Ray and Emily were among those who risked everything in order to bring medicine and compassion to wounded soldiers – and to preserve the freedom we enjoy today. They survived (see photos), but they live with the scars of a horrible and tragic war. We owe it to them, and to their colleagues, to be present to the sacrifice they made – and to watch this marvelous series as it unfolds on public television. This is "television worth watching" in ways that will help all of us be better caregivers.

-Erie Chapman

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2 responses to “Ray and Emily – Why The War Still Matters”

  1. liz Wessel Avatar
    liz Wessel

    Thank you for highlighting this PBS series as so many of our parents and grandparents lived through this war and served our country. I am definitely going to watch it and recommend that my family and friends watch as well. My father was a medic during WWII and served at the Battle of the Bulge. I can’t help but wonder if he crossed paths with either Emily or Ray. I am grateful to the Journal for affording me an opportunity to pay tribute to my father, his friend, and my mother and father in-law in a meditation this past Memorial Day. Thank you, Erie.

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  2. Diana Gallaher Avatar
    Diana Gallaher

    My sister took my father and mother to the WWII memorial in D.C. this past weekend. He was a welder on submarines at Pearl Harbor during WWII. As I always point out, you have to be an extra good welder to work on submarines. My father is now the primary caregiver of my mother, a role made necessary after an illness 4 years ago. They have been married 61 years. The role of primary caregiver is not easy, especially at 84 years old. On another note, Bill Moyers made the point last Friday on PBS that the series “The War” is excellent. But he reminded us viewers that for people serving in a war, who lose their lives, are wounded, etc., every war is “The War.” If you don’t watch Bill Moyers on Friday nights on PBS, I highly recommend it.

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