FRIENDSWOOD, Texas — Memorial Day is a time when people remember and honor those who lost their lives while serving our country. For some like Bill Kongable, the day brings back memories from the time he served.
Kongable is a World War II Veteran who served in the Army for two years.
“I was drafted, five days out of high school,” Kongable said.
He was a 19-year-old on a mission to serve his country.
“I was in the Army Infantry. I took basic training and Camp Fannin, Texas, which was up near Tyler in Longview. After basic training, I joined the 89th Infantry Division, which then went overseas,” Kongable said.
To this day the 98-year-old Veteran still recounts his two years of service.
“I distinctly remember those days, the D-Day right after I was drafted and the battle of the bulge, when we landed in France,” said Kongable.
He vividly remembers the day his division liberated the first concentration camp in World War II.
“There were no live prisoners. The guards had abandoned the camp 3 or 4 days before our troops got there. They knew we were coming,” he said.
Kongable describes what he saw that day at just 19 years old.
“What they left behind was an awful lot of dead bodies,” said Kongable.
As he tells the stories of war and liberation, he remembers those who didn’t make it back home.
“Between bursts of gunfire. We could hear the screams of those men on the river and during one lull, heard a guy kind of yell at the top of his voice. Oh, mama,” said Kongable “And I still almost cry every time I think of that.”
He thinks of them every day, especially on Memorial Day.
“You never forget something like that,” said Kongable.
Kongable said he feels lucky to be here today, still sharing his experience, and has one message this Memorial Day.
“Remember the people who gave up their lives, fighting for our lives,” said Kongable.
Kongable will be heading to Normandy, France this weekend where he and other World War II Veterans will be honored at the 80th D-Day anniversary.