Tuesday, June 15, 2004
The World War II veteran was one of about 100 people at the ceremony.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- John Getway says Flag Day remembrances are very important for him.
"I fought for that flag," he said, after Monday's annual Flag Day ceremony on the steps of Sharon City Hall.
Getway, 82, of South 4th Street, Sharpsville, is one of two surviving World War II veterans of the 82nd Airborne to have made five combat jumps behind enemy lines in the European Theater of Operations.
Several of those jumps were in North Africa, he said.
Getway said he still carries 27 pieces of flak in his body, the result of some "friendly fire" that shot down his plane as it was making a run into Sicily. The paratroopers had to bail out as the plane went down, he recalled, adding that he jumped out just 450 feet from the ground.
He also carries long scars on his left hand, the result of bayonet wounds suffered in hand-to-hand combat with German soldiers.
He suffered some permanent back injuries in a night jump into Holland that left him hanging in a tree suspended by his parachute cords for three days before some Dutch people found and rescued him.
Two years ago, a friend from his military days tracked down the Dutch people who rescued him and they called him earlier this year, telling him they plan to come to the United States to visit him, Getway said.
Flag's importance
Getway, a disabled American veteran, was one of about 100 people who turned out for Monday's ceremony.
The flag is very important to him, he said, adding that he can't stand to see it disgraced.
He said he recently chastised some children who he felt were mistreating the flag while lowering it at a local grade school.
Getway, who earned the rank of staff sergeant, said he just had to speak out when he saw them step on the flag, despite the fact that it drew him some criticism from a teacher at the school.
He returned from the war to work at Sharpsville Steel Fabricating and later Sawhill Tube before retiring.
He has since been honored by the Army for his military service and two years ago was asked to help review 20,000 troops in a ceremony at Fort Bragg.