L.V. was so his dad. Good-looking! Charming! Hot-headed! He loved motorcycles and pretty ladies. He was only two-years old when his father was murdered in their front yard. He was raised by a less-than nurturing grandmother. He was the youngest of four, and all three sister adored him. His sister's daughter Willene loved him like an older brother.
PFC (above private but below corporal) Cunningham served as an MT (medical technician) during WWII, as part of the second division engineers. He found himself in Ireland, France, England, and Germany. So far from the Bogg! As a medic, he saw the dead and the dying. He talked about what he saw--a lot--all the rest of his life. It made him drink.
He was awarded the George Cross medal for gallantry "not in the presence of the enemy" but to those who assisted the British countrymen in some noble way nonetheless. He must have been quite the badass to earn this award. He also was awarded the ETO Ribbon for his service in the European African campaign. And he was awarded not one but four bronze stars which denotes participation in certain important battles. He wound up wounded himself in Germany in 1944 followed by a discharge in 1945. In all he gave five years to that war. And in the end, the war took much of the rest of his life.
He married Opaline Caroll (1927—still living) in 1946. They once broke up. She told me that she drove to the house where they had lived and sat in her car and cried and cried. They reconciled.
They had no children, but they gave refuge to a troubled nephew (Harvey--Kittie's son) and Lynette (Bertha's daughter, pictured with LV and her sister Lori Lee).
L.V. was a truck driver and large machine operator but was much of the time on disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder. One night he held Opaline and Lynette at gunpoint. It was all those bad memories of the war. He was very fond of Nette and gave her his pickle-green Chrysler Imperial. Nette was there on the day he died--when he asked for his last cigarette--the very thing that killed him.
(A Recollection--M.E. McWilliams, his great niece)
PFC (above private but below corporal) Cunningham served as an MT (medical technician) during WWII, as part of the second division engineers. He found himself in Ireland, France, England, and Germany. So far from the Bogg! As a medic, he saw the dead and the dying. He talked about what he saw--a lot--all the rest of his life. It made him drink.
He was awarded the George Cross medal for gallantry "not in the presence of the enemy" but to those who assisted the British countrymen in some noble way nonetheless. He must have been quite the badass to earn this award. He also was awarded the ETO Ribbon for his service in the European African campaign. And he was awarded not one but four bronze stars which denotes participation in certain important battles. He wound up wounded himself in Germany in 1944 followed by a discharge in 1945. In all he gave five years to that war. And in the end, the war took much of the rest of his life.
He married Opaline Caroll (1927—still living) in 1946. They once broke up. She told me that she drove to the house where they had lived and sat in her car and cried and cried. They reconciled.
They had no children, but they gave refuge to a troubled nephew (Harvey--Kittie's son) and Lynette (Bertha's daughter, pictured with LV and her sister Lori Lee).
L.V. was a truck driver and large machine operator but was much of the time on disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder. One night he held Opaline and Lynette at gunpoint. It was all those bad memories of the war. He was very fond of Nette and gave her his pickle-green Chrysler Imperial. Nette was there on the day he died--when he asked for his last cigarette--the very thing that killed him.
(A Recollection--M.E. McWilliams, his great niece)
L.V. was so his dad. Good-looking! Charming! Hot-headed! He loved motorcycles and pretty ladies. He was only two-years old when his father was murdered in their front yard. He was raised by a less-than nurturing grandmother. He was the youngest of four, and all three sister adored him. His sister's daughter Willene loved him like an older brother.
PFC (above private but below corporal) Cunningham served as an MT (medical technician) during WWII, as part of the second division engineers. He found himself in Ireland, France, England, and Germany. So far from the Bogg! As a medic, he saw the dead and the dying. He talked about what he saw--a lot--all the rest of his life. It made him drink.
He was awarded the George Cross medal for gallantry "not in the presence of the enemy" but to those who assisted the British countrymen in some noble way nonetheless. He must have been quite the badass to earn this award. He also was awarded the ETO Ribbon for his service in the European African campaign. And he was awarded not one but four bronze stars which denotes participation in certain important battles. He wound up wounded himself in Germany in 1944 followed by a discharge in 1945. In all he gave five years to that war. And in the end, the war took much of the rest of his life.
He married Opaline Caroll (1927—still living) in 1946. They once broke up. She told me that she drove to the house where they had lived and sat in her car and cried and cried. They reconciled.
They had no children, but they gave refuge to a troubled nephew (Harvey--Kittie's son) and Lynette (Bertha's daughter, pictured with LV and her sister Lori Lee).
L.V. was a truck driver and large machine operator but was much of the time on disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder. One night he held Opaline and Lynette at gunpoint. It was all those bad memories of the war. He was very fond of Nette and gave her his pickle-green Chrysler Imperial. Nette was there on the day he died--when he asked for his last cigarette--the very thing that killed him.
(A Recollection--M.E. McWilliams, his great niece)
PFC (above private but below corporal) Cunningham served as an MT (medical technician) during WWII, as part of the second division engineers. He found himself in Ireland, France, England, and Germany. So far from the Bogg! As a medic, he saw the dead and the dying. He talked about what he saw--a lot--all the rest of his life. It made him drink.
He was awarded the George Cross medal for gallantry "not in the presence of the enemy" but to those who assisted the British countrymen in some noble way nonetheless. He must have been quite the badass to earn this award. He also was awarded the ETO Ribbon for his service in the European African campaign. And he was awarded not one but four bronze stars which denotes participation in certain important battles. He wound up wounded himself in Germany in 1944 followed by a discharge in 1945. In all he gave five years to that war. And in the end, the war took much of the rest of his life.
He married Opaline Caroll (1927—still living) in 1946. They once broke up. She told me that she drove to the house where they had lived and sat in her car and cried and cried. They reconciled.
They had no children, but they gave refuge to a troubled nephew (Harvey--Kittie's son) and Lynette (Bertha's daughter, pictured with LV and her sister Lori Lee).
L.V. was a truck driver and large machine operator but was much of the time on disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder. One night he held Opaline and Lynette at gunpoint. It was all those bad memories of the war. He was very fond of Nette and gave her his pickle-green Chrysler Imperial. Nette was there on the day he died--when he asked for his last cigarette--the very thing that killed him.
(A Recollection--M.E. McWilliams, his great niece)
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