2 patriots, 2 wars, 1 country

World War II, Afghanistan vets reflect on freedom, love for U.S.

Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Raymond Matthews of Goose Creek holds the Purple Hearts and Bronze Star he received as a result of his service in World War II.

Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Matthews

Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier

Sheldon

Raymond Matthews of Goose Creek and Erik Sheldon of Summerville don't just fly the flag on the Fourth of July.

They fly it every day.

And with good reason. Their patriotism runs deep.

The soldiers, who fought in two different wars, know what sacrifices the country has made to guarantee everyone's right to fly the flag, carry a gun or speak freely.

Matthews, 84, took part in the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy as an underwater explosives expert with the Navy.

Sheldon, 22, returned in June from America's fight against terrorists in Afghanistan, where the Army National Guardsman protected American troops who were training Afghan police officers.

Generations apart, and experienced in different methods of combat, they share the experience of war that most Americans will never witness and the fight to guarantee freedoms most Americans take for granted.

Matthews hasn't spoken freely with his family or anyone else about the details of a secret mission he was on in World War II until recently.

The secret mission, dubbed Operation Tiger, was a practice drill on the shores of England for what would later become one of the most famous invasions in history.

As a coxswain on one of eight LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank), Matthews stood facing his buddy, John Shipp of Rocky Mount, N.C., as they passed ammunition to the gun turret when several ships in the convoy were torpedoed by Germans at about 1:30 a.m. on April 28, 1944.

Matthews' ship, LST 289, which was longer than a football field, was struck in the stern, not far from where he and Shipp were working that night. Facing the bow, Matthews suffered shrapnel wounds to his head and right leg and a bullet wound to his left calf. His best friend, who was facing the stern, was struck by a piece of steel and was killed instantly.

"We had agreed that if he got killed, I would go to his parents and that if I got killed, he would go to mine," Matthews said after welling up with tears. "When I came back, I stopped by train at Rocky Mount."

The mission was so secret that Shipp's parents were told by telegram that he died on June 6, 1944, the day of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Matthews remembers bleeding from the head and legs but rushing over to lower one of the ship's small boats into the water by himself to go to the starboard side and push the flat-bottomed ship, which had lost its rudder from the torpedo blast. Another officer ordered him to go to the bow to tow the ship, but he said the small boat was not nearly strong enough to do the job.

To this day, he doesn't know how he got the bullet wound.

Matthews' crippled ship hobbled back to Dartmouth about seven hours later. Two other ships in the convoy were sunk, and 749 servicemen perished.

Matthews stayed in Dartmouth until June 4, when he and others in the underwater explosives crew crossed the English Channel to Omaha Beach to set their charges.

There were so many obstacles set up by the Germans that he and his fellow seamen decided to set charges to blow paths up the beach.

They were supposed to set them off at 12:01 a.m. June 5, but bad weather postponed the invasion a day. Without radio contact, they didn't know about the postponement so they hid among some rocks on the beach until the following night.

Allied bombardment of the coast began just after midnight June 6. "We set off the charges and swam back into the channel for about half a mile where we were picked up," he said.

Matthews went on to serve in Germany under Army command by helping to transport troops. That's where he suffered torso wounds from shrapnel and was sent back to England.

He received two Purple Hearts, one from the Army and one from the Navy, and a Bronze Star for valor.

Matthews, who will enjoy a family cookout later today, knows the importance of the Fourth of July.

"It means we went through a lot to have our freedom, and some of the younger generation don't appreciate what we went through," he said.

Sheldon's war experience was nothing like Matthews'. He said it was more like a regular job with very little danger in the area he worked, but he has come to realize the significance of living in a land of opportunity.

"I love my country," said Sheldon, who left college to join the military. "It's one of the reasons I joined."

Seeing the poor living conditions of the Afghan people while guarding troops training Afghan police made him realize how lucky he is.

"You come back and see how much our way of life is missed," he said. "Most everybody over here has a car or a computer or a TV. The streets are safe in most places. Over there, people are poor and you never know where danger lurks."

"The Fourth is a good time to reflect on all that," said Sheldon, who will drive to West Virginia today to attend a weekend wedding. "It's a celebration of this country being born."

Reach Warren Wise at wwise@postandcourier.com or 745-5850.