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Pearl Harbor, D-Day survivor wants to pass his legacy on to his family

By Lorinda Toledo
Monday, November 12, 2007

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Stan White's wrinkled hands shake slightly, but his long fingers still glide confidently over the piano keys, playing more steadily with each crescendo. Hoagy Carmichael's 1950s classic hit "Stardust" fills the room, and White gives into the music.

White, 87, whose mother was a concert pianist, says music is in his blood. He is tall and charming. But there is much more history to the snowy-haired, Albuquerque gentleman than meets the eye.

White is a survivor of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy and the Korean War — the only such veteran in the state, as far as he knows.

Over the years, White has been asked many times about his unique survival story.

"It gives me an opportunity to talk about the excellent soldiers, very fine men, that I came in contact with — those who gave their lives, those who gave their limbs and were wounded," White said. "They just gave of themselves to see this country stays what it is today."

Although he was raised in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, White was a 19-year-old athlete and cowboy living in New Mexico when he enlisted in the Army. He said he saw it as an opportunity for travel, adventure and education.

He ended up with a life he never could have predicted.

White had been stationed at Pearl Harbor for a year when it was attacked Dec. 7, 1941.

Afterward, he went on to serve as an Army Rangers platoon leader attached to the 1st Infantry Division that stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day. It was the beach that was to become known as "Bloody Omaha."

White wouldn't discuss the details of the violence he experienced during combat, saying he had just one thing to say about what it is like to fight a war.

"War is hell," he said, quoting Civil War Gen. William Sherman. "They're not my words, but that's how I feel. I think he said it all."

White says films such as "Saving Private Ryan" show the true brutality of war to the newest generation of soldiers before they reach the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan.

"They're all volunteers over there and I'm just proud they're serving their country," White said. "I wasn't a hero by any stretch of the imagination. But these men know."

After his military career ended, White taught chemistry, science and math, volunteered as a hospital representative at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Albuquerque and helped to establish the Albuquerque chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association.

White served as president of the survivors' association for 11 years, until health problems forced him to resign, he said.

Old age has reduced the population of World War II veterans to fewer than 3 million nationwide, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As a group, they are dying at at the rate of almost 1,900 a day, the VA said.

John Garcia, secretary of the state Department of Veteran Services and a Vietnam veteran himself, said the aging and decreasing population of veterans has an impact on the veteran community as a whole.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says there are about 173,000 veterans living in New Mexico.

"We're facing the same kinds of issues and concerns that any aging population has — long-term health care," Garcia said. "How does the VA not only adjust to the young soldiers coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but how does it retool itself to deal with aging veterans?"

Garcia said a big issue is that many veterans have not filed for benefits, either because they don't realize they need the care or they feel they have done their duty by serving their country and that is enough.

Among ethnic groups, American Indians are the biggest group of veterans who have not filed for their benefits, Garcia said. His department has outreach programs targeted at such populations.

The department is also working with World War II veterans to preserve their legacy, Garcia said.

"The World War II guys have an amazing legacy, but as their numbers decrease, their stories are being lost," Garcia said. "This truly was a generation that saved the world from tyranny."

White now lives at the St. Theresa Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, which was recommended to him by the VA. White said he has had a good experience with the VA doctors and nurses and feels fortunate to be at St. Theresa, where he is up and about.

"I walk for 30 minutes every day," White said. "I zigzag all over this place. The staff here is wonderful."

In White's room, a glass case against one wall contains his military decorations: a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantry Badge and a French Croix de Guerre.

On the opposite wall, golden and auburn leaves hang like still flames. The yellow ones are leaves from White's favorite tree and the red ones he picks up on his walks.

Photographs from friends and cards with loving messages surround him.

Living through the things he's seen is an unimaginable experience, White said. He sustained several wounds in battle, not the least of which were a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But on this Veterans Day weekend, White says he is proud of the legacy that he can pass on to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"Despite all of the heartaches and the hardships, it's been one hell of a ride," White said. "Of course, like any ride it has its bad scenes, but there's a lot of very beautiful scenes out there to see too — and by that I mean places and people."