From the Oct. 21, 2015, CBS Chicago "World War II Vet Who Turned Down '45 World Series Tickets Gets Chance To Cheer On Cubs" by Brad Edwards.
Bill Madden is from South Bend, Indiana, and said, "I'm here to provide a miracle for the Cubs. I was shot twice and buried once." He fought at Iwo Jima the day after his 19th birthday.
"They played Detroit in 1945 they lost in 7 games." This was when he returned to the U.S. and was in a Chicago naval hospital. "The Cubs sent over free tickets to the wounded veterans no strings attached. They got to the hospital. The hospital official said you can't go have the tickets unless you work for them. We said the hell with that." So, he didn't get to see the Cubs then.
But Wednesday, he was at what ended up as the last game of the NLCS as a guest of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes.
Sadly, he Didn't Provide That Miracle. --GreGen
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
Friday, October 23, 2015
WWII Cubs Fan Finally Gets Chance to See Team: "...the Hell With That"
Labels:
baseball,
Chicago Cubs,
Iwo Jima,
World Series
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