Highland Park residents share family memories of World War II service
Three locals recount the wartime experiences of their fathers and grandfathers, ranging from medical duties in Normandy to chaplaincy on D-Day.
By John Ferrari ·
Veterans Day marks the anniversary of the World War I armistice signed on November 11, 1918, but the holiday now honors American veterans from all conflicts.
The date of the original ceasefire was set in 1918 in Compiègne, France, to end fighting on the Western Front. The U.S. government made Armistice Day a legal holiday in 1938. In 1954, Congress renamed the holiday Veterans Day to recognize service members from every war.
According to Pew Research data from 2023, 78% of living inactive military members served during wartime, while 22% served during peacetime. World War II veterans represent only 1% of living American veterans, making personal family histories a primary source for many communities.
Rob Holmes, a Highland Park resident since 1995, shared the story of his father, Robert "Bob" Hicks Holmes. Holmes, born in 1914 in Lumberton, North Carolina, earned a medical degree from Tulane University. He was commissioned in the Army and deployed to England before crossing into Normandy days after the initial invasion on June 6, 1944. He served in the 4th Armored Division of General Patton's Third U.S. Army.
After the war, Holmes worked as a pathologist with a specialty in ballistics. He assessed battle damage from the atomic blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He also served as the pathologist for the Able-Baker Mission, which sent monkeys into space, and for the development of the Army's first Kevlar body armor. He retired at age 52 after turning down a promotion to brigadier general so he could raise his first child, who was born when Holmes was 52. He died at age 86.
Tracy Walder, another Highland Park resident, recalled her grandfather, Jack Davis, a staff sergeant and combat medic in France. Davis participated in the D-Day landings and the Treaty of Reims signing. Walder said her father believed the trauma of his experience made it difficult for Davis to speak about the invasion itself. During a family trip to Normandy when Walder was 16, she observed Davis walking away from the group and returning with red eyes.
Jennifer Friday, a third Highland Park resident, described her grandfather, Edward K. Rogers. Rogers served as an Army chaplain and landed in France on D-Day. He held degrees in history and theology and documented his daily experiences in notes. Upon returning home, he compiled these notes into a book titled "Doughboy Chaplain." Friday reads the D-Day chapter from the book every Memorial Day.
