Thursday, May 27^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
One of my daily emails caused Marilyn Shimkus to write about her husband and memories they shared on a long-ago trip to France. This is a wonderful essay for Memorial Day. Marilyn wasn’t eager for me to share this essay with you, but I talked her into it. Her memories may trigger yours. Remembering those who have made sacrifices is part of what this weekend is about. I’d love to hear from you. And, thank you, Marilyn, for sharing this with your church family. 
 
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A Memorial Day Essay
by Marilyn Hunter Shimkus             
 
My husband, Morris Hunter, and I were driving in northeastern France on our way to Germany.  We came across an American WWI cemetery.  It was much like your author’s description of the WWII cemetery.  This cemetery also had a tall pointed building with interior maps of the fighting in that area.  I remembered my Mother talking about my Uncle fighting in Belleau Wood, which narrative was a part of the displayed maps on the interior walls. As the village of Belleau was 5 miles in distance, we next drove there.  Sure enough, there was about a block square of a woods left beside a beautiful American WWII cemetery.  My Mother had asked my Uncle (her brother) if he had ever really killed anyone.

My Uncle told her a German sniper was up in a tree, and had killed 2 buddies ahead of him as the Americans went into the woods. My Uncle said he shot the sniper out of the tree and for my Mother never to ask him such a question again. My Uncle also said that 200 some Marines had gone into the woods, and 75 came out alive.

My husband, Morris Hunter, was a WWII Navy pilot, but during his 3 ½ active-duty years he never actually saw combat.  When he got his wings in May of 1942, HALF of his class were made instructors to train more
pilots as the losses in the Pacific were so severe.  He was one of the ones selected as an instructor. He and I were married on that leave. By the end of that year, 1943 and part of 1944, the Pacific tide of the war had changed and there wasn’t the need to train so many more torpedo single engine pilots. He was assigned to learn 4-engine transport planes.  
 
He was then based in Hawaii and flew supplies from the US as far as the Philippines for the invasion of Japan and brought the Pacific wounded back to the states.  At the end of another year, the US dropped the bomb. Every couple of months Morris had a flight to the US, so I had stayed on the coast and worked on the Berkeley, CA, campus. I was the private secretary to the Personnel Director of the Manhattan Project. I realized that the Personnel Director could get any man deferred from service to work on the Manhattan Project; I learned a lot of the details, but not exactly the extent of what the Project was doing until the first atomic bomb was dropped. Morris was discharged in December 1945.
 
 The war was over.
 
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Happy Memorial Day to you all.
 
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PEACE to you all,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
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P.S.
 
Some of you missed this in last Friday’s mailing. Here it is again:

• The Covid-19 Response Team of the Session of First Presbyterian Church encourages everyone who can get vaccinated to do so. 
• Based upon the CDC guidelines, vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks. There is roughly a five-percent likelihood that a vaccinated person can get or spread Covid-19. Therefore, the Covid-19 Response Team recommends that out of abundant concern for others, particularly the unvaccinated, such as children and the medically compromised, that we continue to wear masks in indoor worship at this time.
• Increased capacity of sanctuary to 240 people (60-percent of capacity). No physical distancing required. No reservations required. No congregational singing at this time. No coffee, tea, or snacks after worship at this time.      
• Physical distancing is no longer required indoors.       
• Masks not required for outdoor events.      
• Vaccinated members of our choir may sing together, spaced and masked, for one hour. Currently, we recommend that the choir not sing in worship.      
• We recommend that DREAAM needs to follow all Champaign Unit-4 rules.