Bronze Stars, golden memories
By Leo Kelley
Ada News
March 26, 2007
Ted Savage had no idea that he had earned a second Bronze Star for his bravery during World War II. And if it had not been for his daughter, Jamie Leach, he might not have ever known about it.
Leach pinned the medal on her father during ceremonies in Ada Friday.
“I’m very proud to be awarded another Bronze Star,” Savage said. “I would have never even known about it if Jamie hadn’t went to a lot of work.”
Leach said she and her sisters, Stephanie and Kathy, have always been fascinated by their father’s war stories.
When the 22-year-old second lieutenant left for the European Theater of Operations in 1944, his sweetheart gave him an ID bracelet to wear for good luck.
“Mom and Dad were married Nov. 27,1943, in Oklahoma City, while he was in his third year of ROTC at OSU in Stillwater,” Leach said. “He had completed his training in Kentucky and the Army sent these young men back to their ROTC colleges for more coursework to keep them occupied and in a kind of hiding or seclusion, and then on to OCS (Officer Candidacy School) so they could dispatch these trained young men when the time came for the invasion in Europe.
“Dad was the second round of men to go to replace those who had been injured. Mother had given him this ID bracelet when he left for Germany and told him to never take it off (he says he never did) until he returned home and the war was over.”
Leach said the family has always considered the bracelet a good-luck charm.
“Dad said he was on R&R and eating in one of the military halls when over the loud speaker came the announcement that Japan had just surrendered and the war was over!” she said. “He said he looked down and saw his bracelet lying on top of his food. I still get goose bumps when I hear that story. Dad gave this ID bracelet to Aaron Jacobson, son of my oldest sister, Stephanie Savage Jacobson. Mother also gave my father a copper-covered pocket Bible which he says he wore next to his heart all through the war. He gave that Bible to me when mother passed away. He says he was so close to enemy fire he could hear (shells) soar across the side of his face, but he was never touched. He said he felt like an angel was always protecting him no matter what the situation. The Bible is old and tattered but still has the inscription from my mother to him. I hold this very dear.”
Savage has fond memories of the soldiers he served with, but there have been times he wished he could forget the tough times.
“War is horrible,” he recalled. “There is absolutely nothing pleasant about war. Most of us just did what we thought we were supposed to do. I don’t consider myself a hero. I just did the best I could.”
When World War II ended, U.S. troops were not eligible for certain medals, including those from other nations. But that changed as the decades passed.
“I just remember hearing talk around the coffee table about my father’s exploits during the war,” Leach said. “So, I began to search the Internet. That’s where I found out that my dad qualified for another Bronze Star. That’s when I contacted Patrick Quinn, the veteran/military constituent representative for U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. They really went to work and the entire process took less than two months.”
Guinn can be contacted at (918) 581-7547.
The medal is just one way that our veterans can be remembered, Leach said.
“It’s only natural for a veteran’s children to want to know about the sacrifices and danger they went through,” she said. “I’ve often told my dad that if I could choose a father from anyone, it would be him.”
Savage was a member of the Kansas National Guard when he was called into service in 1942.
What does he think about the role placed on National Guard units in the war on terrorism?
“Our soldiers are doing a wonderful job,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s right to ask our Guard troops to serve tour after tour. We should have a military draft so that people from all walks of life are serving.”
Leach, who co-owns Ada-based Leachco with husband Clyde, said her parents’ letters to one another during the war years have helped her understand what it was like in the 1940s.
“In one letter, my dad asked my mother to send him a bar of soap,” she said. “That doesn’t seem like much now, but then it was almost impossible to get soap because of all the rationing back home.”
When Mildred Savage died in 2002, Ted and his sweetheart had been married almost 60 years.
Savage was discharged in 1946 and was teaching at Chickasha High School when he was called back into military service in 1950 for the Korean War. This time, he was a member of Oklahoma’s famed 45th Infantry Division.
He returned from Korea in 1952 as a captain.
A few years ago, another daughter, Dr. Kathy Savage, discovered information on the Internet (www.koreanwar.org) that convinced her that her dad had earned the Combat Infantry Badge.
The medal had initially been offered U.S. soldiers by the Republic of Korea, but American law still prohibited U.S. military personnel from wearing medals issued by foreign nations. That rule was changed in 1954.
The medal is available for Korean War veterans who served between June 25, 1950, and July 27, 1953. The soldier must have performed his duties within the territorial limits of Korea, in the waters adjacent or in aerial flight over the nation in actual combat operations or in support of those in combat. Also, a veteran must have been on permanent assignment or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days.
After the Korean War, Ted Savage became director of the Ada Chamber of Commerce in 1956. He retired in 1984.
Almost six decades after Capt. Ted Savage and other American GIs returned from Korea, some are finally being recognized for their bravery. The 84-year-old Ada man is like most heroes — he doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.
But most of us realize what all the fuss is about. He is one of those that Tom Brokaw has called members of the greatest generation. Their sacrifice — Ted Savage and other decorated GIs always remember those who came home in bodybags — is so important that they should never be forgotten.
The medal ceremony Friday was especially memorable for Jamie Leach.
“As I was pinning dad’s medal to his shirt I was thinking of all of the sons and daughters who have lost their fathers in war-related conflicts,” Leach said. “And how blessed I am to be able to stand next to my nearly 85-year-old active and alert father (which is a blessing in itself ). But to be able to pin a military award so bravely earned more than 60 years earlier — before I was even born — was overwhelming. How blessed I am. I dedicated that moment to all those sons and daughters — young and old — who have lost their fathers in military action and will never have that moment. I hope they know we will never forget their sacrifices or pain.”
Savage took his reception of the Bronze Star in stride. Like most heroes, he directs the spotlight toward others.
“I’m really thankful that I’ve had such a wonderful life,” Savage said. “My children are proud of my military service and so am I. Of course, if it hadn’t been for them, I would have never known about these last medals that I’ve received.”
Ted Savage may have received the Bronze Star, but his military service and his life have been golden.
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