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Join host Kim Munson as she explores the heartwarming story of the American Saint Nick, a tale of kindness and reverence during World War II. Discover how a small gesture of goodwill by American soldiers became a cherished tradition for a Luxembourg town. Hear from Don Brookens about his father’s role in this remarkable historical narrative that brings to life the essence of service and humanity.
SPEAKER 09 :
World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and our other wars and conflicts. America’s fighting men and women strapped on their boots and picked up their guns to fight tyranny and stand for liberty. We must never forget them. Welcome to America’s veteran stories with Kim Munson. These stories will touch your heart, inspire you and give you courage. We stand on the shoulders of giants. Here’s Kim Munson.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome to America’s Veterans Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteransStories.com. The show comes to you because of a trip that I took in 2016 with a group that accompanied four D-Day veterans back to Normandy, France for the 72nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. Returned stateside realizing that we need to know these stories. We need to record them and broadcast them. and archive them, so hence America’s Veterans Stories. And I have in studio with me Don Brookens, and we’re talking about his father. The story is American Saint Nick, and we’ve recorded something before, Don, but I thought at Christmastime and during the time of the Battle of the Bulge, let’s just meet again and do an interview. So it’s great to have you here.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nice to be here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thanks so much. Thanks for thinking of me. Well, and American St. Nick is a true story. It’s a book by Peter Lyon, right? Peter Lyon, spelled like the animal.
SPEAKER 10 :
Peter Lyon was a friend of my brother’s in Pittsburgh who was going to take over for him while my brother was gone visiting Luxembourg, as the rest of us were, because what my father did was done 30-some years prior to And the town never forgot what he did. So when they discovered that my father survived the war, it took that long to find that out. They invited him back, and the whole family went along. And Peter Lyon said, where are you going? He says, well, I gave him a thumbnail of what was going to happen. He says, I should write a book about that, or someone should write a book about that, and he ended up doing it. So Peter Lyon’s got American Saint Nick, and it’s available probably on Amazon at least.
SPEAKER 04 :
Any place where you can buy books.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s a remarkable story, and as we were preparing for this, Don Brookins, you said that there’s also a film.
SPEAKER 10 :
There was. As a matter of fact, the same year that the book came out, there was a fantastic organization that is out of Providence, Rhode Island. Tim Gray heads this up, and it’s called World War II Foundation. And you can look up WWII Foundation dot org and find that Web site. And Tim is a great storyteller. He found this story. He came over and shot a documentary and it came out the same year that the book came out. And I think that was around 2010. 2016 or so it’s a hard time for hard thing for me to remember now it’s been a few years but um he did 2015 2015 okay and uh he also has done many other stories of And it’s just stories of World War II. And I think it’s something that people would want to go take a look at. And it’s available for free viewing, by the way, if you go to the website. WWIIfoundation.org. All of his documentaries are up there, and you can also, I think, download the streaming app on a Roku TV and watch all of his productions. You’ll really like the American Saint Nick, but you’ll also enjoy what else he’s done.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Well, let’s talk about American Saint Nick. It’s your father, and when did you find out that he was the American Saint Nick?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I’m originally from western New York State. I’ve lived in Colorado for several years now. It was 1977 I came here. And soon after I got here, I learned about But prior to that, I was a little boy and I remembered seeing a fax picture, an AP or UPI fax picture of my dad playing St. Nick back in the war. But I and I kind of. I kind of understood somewhat about it, but that was all that was mentioned. And the way this all came about was my father was serving in the 28th Infantry Division, came over to France in August of 1944, and then went on to the front, and he was in a message unit of the 28th Infantry Division there. small group of guys and they were put into this horrendous battle called the hurtkin forest and not many people know about it in fact i don’t really know enough about it but it was quite a just a terrible uh decision to be made and they were really against all odds and it was a meat grinder they called it as a The 28th Infantry was a part of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and they had a patch. Their patch was a keystone, a red keystone, and the Germans named it the Bloody Bucket. from that battle of Hurtgen Forest. And they were so devastated by that, they cycled them out to R&R up into Luxembourg. And at that time, the Americans advanced to the German border so rapidly that they got well ahead of their supply chain, and they were waiting to go into Germany And so it was kind of a thinly protected area because they thought the Germans were pretty well defeated and they weren’t going to be doing anything aggressive. So this was a beautiful little country. storybook looking villages they all were billeted there and they were all kind of relaxed and finally eating properly and not living in the mud but able to take showers and sleep in clean beds and everything was was going along just fine and my father was in a town called wilts wiltz and uh That’s kind of central, north central part of the country. And his job there, in addition to whatever else he was doing around Wilts, he was sent out to local towns to show movies to the troops. So he had a Jeep that was packed with people. um projectors and in film and matter of fact the movie he was taking around was called going my way with bing crosby as a matter of fact i i found that out so anyway he while in wilts his roommate was harry stutz was his name and he was a little short more short guy and he uh… was talking to doubt that uh… give you the significance of that in a minute but uh… he was talking some locals and they were very very pleased and happy that the americans came in save their town and the germans withdrew of the town was left intact and he came to find out that they were happy that the americans came but they were unhappy that that there was nothing left. The Germans took everything with them, and the children, who have not been able to celebrate their big holiday celebration every year, St. Nicholas Day, which usually occurred around December 6th. It was fast approaching. There was just nothing for the children, and a lot of the children didn’t even know what St. Nicholas was because the Germans were not allowing anyone to celebrate local traditions.
SPEAKER 04 :
And they’d been under German rule for four years, probably? Five years.
SPEAKER 10 :
Five years. Yeah, they came in in 1940. As a matter of fact, Luxembourg conducted a strike in protest, and that didn’t end well for them. So they finally succumbed to their rulings. But they felt bad for the kids, and so Harry Stutz… decided to go up the chain of command to see if he could put on a party for the kids. The town was pretty much nothing but women and children because the male population of Army age were all conscripted. And some were hiding out in the Ardennes Forest. And there were just the women and children in town. So he got a little party together among his message unit. They donated their cookies from home, maybe, and their cookies. They made chocolate. They made cocoa out of their chocolate bars. They got donations from a lot of the guys and made donuts and made little bags for the kids. And they said that St. Nicholas would come. And so my dad said, well, what can I do to help you? And he looked at the height of my dad, because I’m sure Harry would have easily… played the part of St. Nicholas, but the local priest was a tall fellow, and all of his garments fit my dad better. So he said, well, I need a St. Nicholas. My dad said, no, I can’t do that. I don’t know anything about it. And he says, oh, heck, all you got to do is just chuck him under the chin and pat him on the head, give him a little bag of stuff. That’s all you got to do. So He put them in the back of a Jeep with an angel on either side of him, a couple of the little girls from town. And they drove through town a little bit, and they ended up at the castle because everybody’s got a castle around those parts. And so they arrived at the castle, had a little party. show and tell, and kids did little demonstrations, and my dad didn’t know any of the language, so he just stood there and was St. Nicholas. He had to put on this garb, and they fixed for him a beard made out of rope that he said was very scratchy. and very hard to deal with. And his mitered hat was a little too tight on him, gave him a heck of a headache. And as a matter of fact, Harry Stutz says, well, if it gives you a headache, take it off. He said, I can’t do that. St. Nicholas wouldn’t do that. So anyway, they went on with this party, and it was just, I guess it was the GIs were just as happy about it as the kids because it gave them a break. Sure. That happened. It was enjoyed by all. And everybody else after that went back to work. And my dad went and showed movies and went up to a town called Clairvaux, which is north of there. And on the 15th of December, which was 10 days later, and then came the Battle of the Bulge, which nobody expected.
SPEAKER 04 :
So we’re going to go to break here, Don Brookins, in just a minute. We’re talking about this book, American St. Nick, your father, who is portraying St. Nicholas. And one thing before we go to break, these young GIs, they were young GIs. They weren’t very old at all, were they? My dad was 22.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, my gosh. He was born in 22, and this was 1944. And they were all about that age.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, they were young guys. Just really young guys, but doing something special for these kids. And the town remembered it. But the book is American Saint Nick, A True Story by Peter Lyon. And I did want to mention the Center for American Values, which is one of the nonprofits that I dearly love and support. It is located, the center is located in Pueblo, Colorado, on the beautiful Riverwalk. And it’s co-founded by Drew Dix. who’s a Medal of Honor recipient for actions he took during the Vietnam War, and Brad Padula, who is an Emmy Award-winning documentary maker. And they thought, we need to keep these stories alive. We need to honor these guys. So their Portraits of Valor is something very special at the center. And the center, like I said, is located on the Riverwalk. I’d recommend do a day trip. and go to Pueblo, check out the Center for American Values. They’ve got great restaurants for lunch or dinner. That website is AmericanValuesCenter.org, AmericanValuesCenter.org, and we will be right back.
SPEAKER 02 :
Remax Realtor Karen Levine helps bring to life the individual stories of our servicemen and women. With her sponsorship of America’s Veteran Stories with Kim Munson, Karen honors the sacrifices of our military and is grateful for our freedom. As a member of the National Association of Realtors Board of Directors, Karen works to protect private property rights for all of us. Karen has a heart for our active duty military and veterans and is honored to help you buy or sell your home. Call Karen Levine at 303-877-7516 to help you navigate buying or selling your home. That’s 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 05 :
All of Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Munson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmunson.com. That’s kimmunson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome back to America’s Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. I am talking with Don Brookens regarding a story about his father, the American Saint Nick. It’s a true story from World War II written by Peter Lyon. And you said also there is a documentary that people can watch as well, correct?
SPEAKER 10 :
That is correct. It’s got the same title and a gentleman named Tim Gray of the World War II Foundation wrote Put that came out and shot the documentary and had it ready the following year while my dad was still alive. He was not physically able to play the part again, but he rode in the Jeep and they they did the background story about it. And here’s here’s another story. That might be interesting, but just the chance that this story is a good story and it can be told verbally. But two guys from two combat cameramen were walking back from whatever assignment they had in Wilts that day. and came to the end of a street, and all of a sudden they look, and here comes St. Nicholas on a Jeep with two angels going by. And typical of their profession, they said, well, let’s go find out what this is. At 30 seconds either way, they never would have seen it happen. So as a result… there is film, black and white film, of this entire event, which, by the way, is on YouTube. I think if you go to YouTube and type in American Saint Nick, you’ll find the raw footage of the event. So there’s… There it is. It’s all laid out. Perfect for a documentary.
SPEAKER 04 :
Isn’t that something?
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s amazing to see.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, this was on, I think you said, 5 December in 1944. And the byline on this is the day American soldiers brought Christmas back to one Luxembourg town during the darkest days of World War II. Now, the Allies were having success, and you had mentioned that supplies were limited. I’ve heard in many of the interviews that I’ve done is that Patton was moving so quickly with the Third Army that they were having trouble keeping the supply lines up with the guys. And so the line was thin there at Luxembourg. And I think that we, and you alluded to this, that we thought that things were going to be winding down and Hitler had other things in mind, right?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, they figured that Hitler was pretty much done and they were beaten back and they were going to be just pretty much on the defensive from that point on. It was anybody’s guess as to how it was going to come out, but they just figured that that was pretty much done. They were hoping to be home by Christmas, but of course they realized that wasn’t going to happen. So they were just hanging out and waiting, including winter clothing. Waiting for winter. Waiting for things like winter clothing, which they didn’t have. And then when the surprise came, the Battle of the Bulge came through, you heard a lot of stories about… brutal cold it was a hundred year winter i understand from what from what i read and lots of snow and lots of cold weather and these people went through well they had been through the hurtkin forest battle and they didn’t think things could get worse than that but it got pretty bad
SPEAKER 04 :
It did get pretty bad, and the Battle of the Bulge was fought, let’s see, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945, so clearly they were not home by Christmas. Nope. And Hitler was trying to make a last-ditch effort to get to, my understanding is, fuel supplies.
SPEAKER 10 :
And a port. I think that they also wanted to split… the Allies in two. They wanted to make it to Antwerp, which was an inland seaport. And they figured if they could split the Allies into two sections, they could eventually sue for peace. So he had a very elaborate offensive move That surprised everyone, came through the least possible place that people expected it, which were narrow roads and lots of hills and lots of trees, and the Ardennes is a pretty thick forest. And so that caught everybody by surprise, and my dad happened to be up in a town north of Wilts, never got back to Wilts. And then with the… Counterattack, the town of Wilts was pretty much beaten up by all kinds of artillery and taking it back. So it was a couple of years before the town was functional. And a lot of these guys, you know, got scattered everywhere. And so it’s amazing to me that… My dad got through the Hercan Forest and he got out of the bulge somehow. He also got out of landing at D-Day because of General Patton. He slapped a soldier in Italy. Right. That caused a big kerfuffle. Right. And he was disciplined. They were going to send him back to the States. And he begged Eisenhower to resign. let him stay in Europe, but he lost his opportunity to land at D-Day, which is what Patton wanted to do. So he put Patton in charge. of what they called the Phantom Army. And those were all inflatable tanks and inflatable trucks and parked along the outskirts in New England. And so my father’s unit who trained for an amphibious landing, they went with Patton. The 28th ended up in England, and the 29th ended up landing on D-Day. So I might not be here talking to you if he didn’t slap a soldier, which tells you what little things… How it can change things. How it can change everything. And so, as I said, he came across in August the 28th. I don’t know if you remember a very famous photo of the American Army marching down the Champs-Élysées. Yes. Well, that’s the 28th Infantry. So they got off the boat in August, went to the parade, and then off to the front. So… Anyway, where are we? Oh, so, you know, this happened. Everything got scattered. The war finally ended. And everybody pretty much all but forgot, you know, what they did on that afternoon on December 5th. But the people there never forgot. And so when the town got back in, living conditions they about 1947 they decided that they were going to commemorate this event every year and it wasn’t St. Nicholas it was the American St. Nicholas and they have a jeep and they have kids that vie for the honor of playing the angel. And every year since 1947, they duplicate the festival, unbeknownst to anybody who participated in the first one. They tried to find out for a long time whatever happened to a lot of these people, not knowing whether or not they survived the bulge, because 22,000 guys were killed in that. And I think there was a… an archive of military history in St. Louis in the early 50s, maybe, that had a fire. So a lot of things were destroyed, a lot of information. So all they could do in those days was write letters, and they wrote letters, and they wrote letters, but nothing seemed to happen. Until one day, just like a lot of guys in 1975, 1977, in particular this time, I think it was in 77. that a fellow named Frank McClelland from my father’s division, he was a military policeman. He didn’t know my dad. My dad didn’t know him, but Frank was a sergeant, and Frank McClelland came back to, who was from Pittsburgh, he came back to go over his career his war path where he was, and as a lot of guys did. But Frank had a group of guys that was trying to find their way back to the front during the bulge in the snow, and he was in charge of several guys, and they got pinned down by the Germans, and Frank ended up having to surrender and spent the rest of the war. The war is a POW. And he went back because it bothered him, thinking that maybe he could have done something else. And so he went back. To Luxembourg. To Luxembourg, to the Wilts area, just outside of Wilts. And he went to the spot where he was killed. He was made a POW and where he surrendered and he sat in the rain for. an hour and pondered it and realized that, no, he did the right thing. He felt better about that. So he went back into town after that and went to the hotel that he was billeted at. And it turns out that the gal behind the counter was the same lady that was behind the counter while he was there. And so he… She said, are you a soldier from World War II? He says, yes, I am.
SPEAKER 04 :
So was this 1977? This is 77.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. She’s still the same.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, she’s the same person. So she said, he says, I’m a little hungry. I see your restaurant is closed. She says, don’t you go on up and get some dry clothes on, and we will cook you anything you want. But do you mind if a couple people from town came to see you? Because we’re always interested in knowing who came through here from the 28th. And he said, no, that would be fine. So he’s having dinner, and here comes these two guys. And Gene Schweig was the main individual, and he wanted very much to have McClellan come the next morning and see the museum that they put up in the castle for the 28th. And he says, I can’t. I’ve got to be on an early train and so forth. But they were persistent. So he shows up and he sees the museum and he also sees the picture of my father on the Jeep. And they said, of course, they consider the United States about as easy to get around in as Luxembourg. So they figured, well, maybe you can find this place. This guy, he’s he’s from Rochester, New York. And could you please see what you can do to find out what happened to him? So he goes he goes back and he calls a friend of his who works for the phone company. And of course, these people in the message unit, a lot of these people in the signal core would respond. get out of the Army, and they’d work at telephone companies, which my dad did. So he worked for the Rochester Telephone Company, and McClellan goes back to Pittsburgh, and he calls a friend of his who happened to work at the phone company, because maybe you know a way to find somebody.
SPEAKER 04 :
So let’s keep that as a cliffhanger. Yeah. OK. OK. That’s a pretty good story. Yeah. I’m talking with Don Brookins. These amazing stories and just an amazing story for Christmas time here as well. And the show comes to you because I have amazing sponsors.
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SPEAKER 1 :
And that I love thee
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to America’s Veterans Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteransStories.com. And I dearly love another nonprofit, which is the USMC Memorial Foundation. And the actual Marine Memorial is right here in Colorado at 6th and Colfax in Golden. And it was dedicated in 1977. And the foundation has determined that it’s time for a facelift. So they’re raising the money for the remodel, and you can get more information and help them by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. I’m talking with Don Brookens regarding his story, his father’s story, portraying the American Saint Nick during World War II. And it’s a great book by Peter Lyon, but also there is a documentary people can see video of as well. Right. Correct? Correct. I was just taking a nap. Yeah.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, anyway, let’s see where we were.
SPEAKER 04 :
We were back where? Okay, so we are at, let’s see, it is George… Frank McClellan. Frank McClellan. Frank McClellan, from Pittsburgh. Has gone back, and they’re saying, and showing him the museum at the castle, and they said, can you find this guy? We want to know what happened to the guy that portrayed St. Nick.
SPEAKER 10 :
So, yes, indeed. And he goes back to Pittsburgh and he calls a friend of his who works for the phone company in Pittsburgh, figuring that maybe he’d have a way of looking it up. So he says, well, I’m trying to find this guy named Dick Brookins from Rochester, New York. And he was in Wilkes-Luxembourg just before the Battle of the Bulge. And his friend said, Dick Brookins? I worked with Dick Brookins. He trained me in Rochester.
SPEAKER 04 :
What’s the chances?
SPEAKER 10 :
I tell you. So, okay. So he gets his phone number. My mom answers the phone. My dad’s at work. And he said, is this the same Richard Brookins that played Santa Claus in Luxembourg during the war? And my mom said yes. He said, okay, well… you’re going to get contacted pretty soon. And Gene Schweig, who was a kid who was 17 years old at the time of this party, he happened to be in town, too young to conscript, I think. And he was blown away by this kindness. It wasn’t the most lavish party, I’m sure, due to circumstances, but he was amazed that these people would show this much love for the children in this town. especially since the people who were there in charge of the place prior to then were nothing but, you know, brutal and evil people. So anyway, he decided that he started up this thing that had been going on for 30 years. And he got a he got a letter, long letter inviting my father back to. to play St. Nicholas again in 1977. And we were told about this and that we were all invited back. And I had just moved here, started a job the previous May. This was in November. And I hadn’t acquired any vacation time by that time. So I ended up going into my new boss and telling him that I’m taking vacation. I’ll be gone for a while. And kind of explained what it all was. I was working at Channel 9 at the time as a news photographer. And as was typical… in the business, well, okay, take a camera. Shoot a story, which I guess was a good way around it for him letting me go, but I ended up really kind of missing a lot by documenting it, if you can understand that.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s difficult to do both things at the same time.
SPEAKER 10 :
In fact, for many years, my siblings would talk about events and people. And I thought, am I stupid? I don’t know these people as well as my siblings do. Well, I couldn’t hang around at the bar with them and talk to them all. And I was busy. But anyway, I went and just shot some stories and put some stories on the air when I got back. Never forget sitting there Christmas Eve when nobody’s in the building and I’m sitting editing film. Film is stuff with little holes in the side.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was the old days, yeah. I know what that is, but I bet producer Joe doesn’t. No, Joe’s never heard of it.
SPEAKER 10 :
And so we all went back. How many children in your family? There were four. Okay. And all four of us went. My older brother… And my younger brother, I’m number two, they were married. So they and their wives and my younger sister and I went back there. And so here he comes down the street. There’s the bands playing. Oh, not only that, they arranged for the Army to fly him in by helicopter there. And he had a really fancy outfit on that time, no rope beard. He got out of the helicopter and this town of about 5,000 people, there were 10,000 people there. And so here he comes down the street, my father, dressed up as St. Nicholas. And, man, it was just amazing. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, I’ll tell you. So he had gone back there. He ended up going back there three or four times after that, every five years or so. Prior to that, you know, as was typical, there were – people in town who played the part of St. Nicholas. And it’s a big honor. But they go all out. And to this day, as a matter of fact, my older brother just came back from the 80th anniversary celebration. And these people, I tell you what, if you want to go on a nice European vacation, go to Luxembourg. These people in Luxembourg love Americans. American flag flies there every day, and there is not enough they can do for you. Not enough.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, that’s what I found, Don, when we went to Normandy in 2016, is they revere our World War II veterans. And it was like traveling with Elvis because everybody wanted to get to know them, get their autographs. There was 24 of us, I think, that all went with them. And it was quite the experience. it is amazing just to yeah it’s but how american uh this idea of of kindness and i remember uh when we were in in normandy there were pictures on the sides of buildings and in the windows of stores of of rgis and and there’s a There was a picture of a GI who was knelt down and giving some candy to a little girl. And we were talking during break. These are guys that grew up during the Depression, the battle there of the Hurricane Forest, you said, and then the Battle of the Bulge. They didn’t have the proper equipment. They were outside sleeping on the ground. During that time, because of them, we lived such comfortable lives. And they came back. You said something interesting also during the break is they came back and we ended up with the hippie generation. But I think part of it was they… They’d seen war. They wanted to take care of their families. They wanted to, in I think some ways, try to forget what had happened. But they wanted to make sure that they gave their kids all that they could. And that is a good thing, and it’s a bad thing sometimes.
SPEAKER 10 :
Sometimes it is. You don’t appreciate what you have unless you’ve gone through some tough times. But, yeah, a lot of the guys just did not want – when they came back, they didn’t want to visit the past, either in their own minds for what they saw and didn’t want to share it with family. And as a matter of fact, my dad was the same way until this happened. Then he became a star. I’ll tell you what. I remember he… got interviewed by the local newspaper or local TV station. In Luxembourg? No, in Rochester when he came back from one of these trips. Okay. And he says he made a great, they used a sound bite that was pretty funny. He said at the end of the piece, he says, yeah, the guy lives two doors down from me, doesn’t know who the heck I am. But over there, I’m a big deal. He is. He’s amazing. Well, when my brother was there this past week, he and his wife were he was the sole representative of our family for this trip. And he and his wife were walking down the street downtown and car came up and stopped right in the middle of the street and he got out. I want to shake his hand and talk to him. And everybody, they just waited. It’s remarkable. And now a lot of little kids that he gave the party to, they’ve all passed away. I remember when we went back there in, I’m trying to think what year was it, that we went in 94. In 1994, we all have been, gotten married, have kids and so forth. And my dad, he says, I’m spending your inheritance. And he flew us all over there for the 50th anniversary. And it – let me see, where was I? Oh, so we all participated. I’ll tell you what, if that plane went down on the way over, that would be it. Wow. But we all went over there for that event, and all of our children got to experience it, and they – A lot of them were pretty young, but they never forgot that. As a matter of fact, it’s really strange, too, that my wife and my first daughter, my first child, have the same birthday, and it happens to be December 6th, which is St. Nicholas Day. And her son, my grandson, is named Max Nicholas.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, wow. So we’re going to finish up. We have one more segment that we’ll continue with next. Don Brookins regarding the story of the American Saint Nick. But the show comes to you because of sponsors and a sponsor that’s been for all these years is Hooters Restaurants. How I got to know them. It’s a very important story about freedom and free markets and capitalism. And they have five locations, Loveland, Aurora, Lone Tree, Westminster and Colorado Springs restaurants. Great place to get together for lunch specials, happy hour specials, and, of course, to watch all of the games. And we are into playoff season now, so be sure and check that out. We’ll be right back with Don Brookins.
SPEAKER 07 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
From the mountains to the prairie.
SPEAKER 04 :
And welcome back to America’s Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure and check out our website. That is AmericasVeteranStories.com. I’m talking with Don Brookins regarding the story of the American Satanic, who was your father. And they have celebrated this every year since 1947. Finally, in 1977, they found your father, and he went back several different times. Did they bring any of the other guys back that were involved in that?
SPEAKER 10 :
As a matter of fact, Frank McClellan. who started this whole thing. He showed up in 77. Of course, Gene Schweig, who started the party, was there. But another GI was Harry Stutz, who had the idea for the party. He showed up. My godfather, who my dad served with, Tommy Makovic, he came. And that’s my greatest recollection right now as to who was there. But there were some people that showed up. And as I said, there was speeches and dinners and oh, my gosh. The best beer I’ve ever had in my life to this day is Simon Pills and they make it in Wilts. I would kill for another one of those.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sometimes I wonder, Don Brookins, if it’s… If it’s that good, or is it all of the memories, is it all of it together? You never know for sure.
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s that good? It’s that good. You can’t really, you can talk about it all you want, but being there and being among the people. And as I said, there is a brand new generation now, and they’ve been taught about it.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that’s what I saw when we were in Normandy as well, because with our veterans, our four veterans, we went to a number of schools. And in fact, we went into a school in Normandy and a big portrait on the wall in the gymnasium was Thomas Jefferson. They love Americans because they understand just the sacrifice, the fact that these young men were far from home and had their lives on the line for people’s liberty, something bigger than ourselves. And so the stories are so fascinating. And where can the book American Saint Nick, a true story by Peter Lyon, and it would be a great gift or a great book to have at home. But also, you said there’s some places that people can watch the documentary.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, first of all, prior to the. watching the documentary or not aside from watching the documentary, you can actually watch, um, which the documentary incorporates into it, but there is the raw footage that these GIs took of the event and that’s on YouTube. So if you go, if you go to YouTube and type in American St. Nick, you could start watching the raw footage of, of, of the party. And, uh, And then the documentary, if people would go to W.W.I.I. Foundation dot org. Peter Tim Gray’s World War Two Foundation documentary documentary. A website which has many stories that he’s done over the years are all available there. Plus, I think on the Roku channel, you can even look for the World War Two Foundation app and you can watch it on your television. All these, including this story.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I think that would be a great thing to do over the holidays, something very special. And we’ve got a little bit of time left. And you had mentioned that there’s another veteran, a Colorado kid, that a lot of people don’t know about.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, a lot of people don’t know about. It’s it’s quite an interesting story. I ran into this story by happenstance when I worked at Channel 9 and I did in 96. I did a little story about about this and it’s quite involved, except to say that there was a. Only child from Ray, Colorado, who moved here his senior year of high school, went to East High. And his name was Ronald Joseph Fisher. And it so happens that. If you learn about the Battle of Midway, where the entire Pacific War was turned around, Ronald Joseph Fisher was on the USS Hornet, and not only did he participate in the battle, but he was one of the first people to discover the location of the Japanese fleet. Really? Because he was a radio man slash gunner on a Devastator. There was a two-man crew. And it was Torpedo Squadron 8 off the Hornet. And they were sending planes off all the carriers looking for the fleet. And… It’s really worth delving into that. The movie Midway that was done in 2019 crammed an awful lot into that movie, but they really tried to stay accurate. And the Torpedo Squadron 8 was able to be shown in that movie for about a minute. But it’s really amazing what this kid did because they were by themselves, and they didn’t have the other support from the rest of the squadron, and they went in anyway with their torpedo planes, and every one of them was shot down, and all but one was killed. There’s one famous person in that particular event that ended up floating around in the water watching the battle, go from there, but it looked like a suicide mission, but as it turned out, they disrupted things so much by their presence that it caused a lot of confusion on the Japanese carriers, and they couldn’t get planes landing, fueled, taking off, plus they were surprised to find out that these torpedo planes were there at all because the only way they could be there were from aircraft carriers, and they didn’t think there were any aircraft carriers there. And, in fact, they had the Battle of Bidway to entice the aircraft carriers to come up there, but the aircraft carriers already were there, and that’s another story how they found that out, but… They sunk three out of the four Japanese carriers in five minutes, and they sunk the fourth one later on that day. And Ronald Joseph Fisher was on one of those planes on Torpedo Squadron 8. And if you go to YouTube, John Ford, who shot a lot of the John Wayne movies, happened to be on Midway. shooting the attack on Midway Island. But prior to that, he also filmed Torpedo Squadron 8 in color on the deck of the aircraft carrier. And if you go to Torpedo Squadron 8 on YouTube, you will be able to see Ronald Joseph Fisher for about 10 seconds, and they have pictures or film of the pilot and the gunner separated by little, what would you call it, just a little notification of who’s coming up next, and they go through the whole torpedo squadron, and Ronald Joseph Fisher, good-looking kid, he just stands there and he kind of winks at you. He didn’t survive? He did not survive. He was killed in that. And there’s a memorial stone at Fort Logan, the missing in action section for him.
SPEAKER 04 :
Because they did not ever find his remains?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, he’s at the bottom of the ocean. In fact, Ensign Gay, who survived, had a good life. He was a pilot for, I think, Continental Airlines, I believe. And when he passed, he had his ashes strewn over that area. Wow. So that’s a very interesting story. So the movie Midway is pretty well done, and I was so glad that they got a little cameo in there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and Ray Colorado, I’m from western Kansas, so that’s my people. And he couldn’t have been very old, was he?
SPEAKER 10 :
He was 21. 21. I think he was born in November 2nd of 21. I’ve done as much research as I can about him. There’s not really an awful lot. Right. But I happened to learn of him, and he’s quite a hero. And, you know, it’s really funny because I guess his dad passed away in 58, and And his mom in 89. Now, her only son was killed in that battle. And I tried to look her up where her grave site might be. And it’s in Golden, the cemetery in Golden. And I went in to look for it. And I went to the person in charge. And they still have everything on paper. And she got the book out. She said, OK. She pointed to the map. And she’s up here. So I went walking up there. It’s an unmarked grave. That’s not right. There’s probably a reason why. Well, I don’t know why. I don’t know why.
SPEAKER 04 :
There’s no stone.
SPEAKER 10 :
I would like to, because it was just a small family.
SPEAKER 04 :
Who knows? But losing only son, only child, boy, that tears a mother’s heart. It really does. Don Brookins, we’re just about out of time. This has been… Absolutely fascinating. And so what’s the final thought you’d like to leave with our listeners?
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, I don’t know. I think a good place to go on vacation is Wilts Luxembourg. Then you’ll know. You can’t believe how people appreciate Americans.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and we do this show because these stories are so important, and we’ve got to know our history, and we’ve got to know these stories. And so I so appreciate you taking the time to do this interview, and I’ve learned even more. So, Don Brookins, thank you so much.
SPEAKER 10 :
You’re very welcome. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 04 :
And my friends, indeed, it is such an honor to get to bring these stories to you, and it is very apparent that we do stand on the shoulders of giants. So my friends, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you for listening to America’s Veteran Stories with Kim Munson. Be sure to tune in again next Sunday, 3 to 4 p.m. here on KLZ 560 and KLZ 100.7.
SPEAKER 06 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
