Dignified Moon Pies: Mr. Ranald Gordon L'Hommedieu

I posted this originally last year. Mr. L'Hommedieu was an incredible man. I was truly lucky to have met and been able to interview him. I will cherish those memories made that day. Mr. L'Hommedieu passed away earlier this year. Today, I would like to honor him by re-running his interview post for WWII Week on my blog.

I've mentioned before that while I was well-versed on the European Theater of WWII, there were many areas that I wasn't knowledgeable in. Mr. L'Hommedieu served in the China Burma India Theater.

Mr. Ranald dressed to the nines on a brisk Sunday morning.

Mr. Ranald Gordon L'Hommedieu

As Winter Storm Jonas was bearing down on the East Coast, I sat at a table at the Old Town Hardees, fiddling with the ends of my American Flag scarf, anxiously awaiting my guest. Nerves had begun to wash over me as I sat thinking: “How do I adequately do this interview justice? How can I ever express to him how appreciative I am of his service…and that he has allowed me to interview him?”

Just a few short minutes later, I stood in reverence as my guest walked in, arm in arm with his great-granddaughter (and my dear friend) Brandy. On that brisk Sunday morning, he was dressed to the nines in his black suit, also donning a black hat with a starry, red, white, and blue hat band. Later, he would go on to show me that even his watch had significance. It boasted Lady Liberty in the center with “World War II” engraved in gold across the face of the watch.

Mr. Ranald showing his World War II watch off with pride.

As we sat down and began to talk, I began to see immediately why Mr. L’Hommedieu is known widely through the AmVets and Old Town as “Grandpa.” He is an absolute sweetheart, with just the tiniest gleam of mischief in his eyes….a true character. Even at 93 years old, he wears his Patriotism proudly, and takes every opportunity to go to the American Legion Post 383 and dance with all the ladies (according to his great-granddaughter).

Today, where Americans are so ruled by political correctness, it was refreshing to me to be truly taken back to a time where you didn’t mince words. In hearing stories of war today, we find ourselves being very careful with our wording of the enemy…careful not to label the whole group, just the extremists. I would like the readers of this blog to take into consideration that the world was very different during World War II.

On December 7 1941, Japan had just led a surprise military attack at the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. This led to the United States declaring war on Japan on December 8, 1941, ultimately entering the United States into World War II.

Having sat through many history classes discussing Hitler, the Axis Powers, and the Holocaust, I have often fancied myself to be very educated about World War II. As I sat taking notes on Sunday, I realized that I had limited knowledge of the Pacific Theater of the War. Now, of course, I knew about Pearl Harbor. However, I don’t believe that the grave severity of that event really hit home until then for me. America, our beloved Country, had been struck. Our very own, attacked and killed, on our own soil. The shockwaves that had rippled through America, lighting the spark of desire in men’s hearts to enlist and serve their Country, had all been brought forth by Pearl Harbor.

I would do a disservice to Mr. L’Hommedieu, as well as my readers, fumbling with the words to try and describe how much this interview meant to me or how much I learned. All I can say is that I am truly grateful to have met such a wonderful human being.

Those that are blessed enough to meet Mr. L’Hommedieu, will leave a better person.

1. What is your full name?

"Ranald Gordon L’Hommedieu"

2. How did you get your name?

“Do you know how apostrophes are used?”

I said, “Yes, sir.” Thinking solely about their purpose in contractions.

He said, “It takes the place of an ‘e’ or ‘a.’ If it is an ‘a’ that’s feminine; if it is ‘e’ it’s more masculine.”

“L’Hommedieu is French. It stands for ‘The Man of God.’ The guys that were over there, they were going North. They went up on the East side of Italy. When they began going North, they were in the mountains. And they didn’t know how to handle the mountains. They kept getting lost. My family lived in the mountains. Our family sent out help to find them. And they were camping different places. And when they saw our family’s ancestors ahead of them, they called out ‘Thank God, we’re saved. Here come the men of God.’ So when they got up to France, King Louis’ Prime Minister told King Louis about this. King Louis said ‘Oh this is great. From now on, we’ll call them ‘the Men of God.’ So that’s how we got our name.”

“Then King Louis, who had said ‘Oh that’s great, we’ll call them ‘the Men of God’ ...shortly after, he told his Prime Minister ‘I want no Protestants in France.’ So our family was already there, and he only wanted those that weren’t religious. Our family was run out...that’s how we got to this Country. But they kept that name, and it’s still with the family.”

3. Do you have any nicknames?

“Yeah, but I don’t tell anybody.”

4. When and where were you born?

“December 17, 1922. In Greece, New York. It’s a suburb of Rochester. Near Lake Ontario.”

5. Tell me about your father.

“He was born on the day George Eastman started Eastman’s Kodak Company.”

“There were 5 girls and 6 boys....and he told us guys one day: ‘I can tell you, I didn’t want any boys.’ He said ‘I’d rather have the girls. They take care of you better. They fix your food for you. They fix your clothes.‘ Us guys didn’t do anything but go huntin‘ and fishin’. I took him hunting once or twice, but I didn’t let him hold my gun.”

His mother, Anna May L'Hommedieu

6. What were your best memories of your mother?

“She was always there when you needed her. You didn’t get out of line at all with her, though. You see, she was part Indian and had a temper.” He smiles with a little gleam in his eye, “She’d make you go out and get your own stick...to give you a whoopin’ with...when you’d done something wrong. Once, my brother John, went out and came back with a stick on his shoulder....it was a 2x4. She looked at it and started laughin’ so bad, she couldn’t even hit him.”

7. Tell me about your siblings.

“I was number 10 out of 11 kids. My sisters Thelma, Viola, Jean (John’s twin), Ruth, and Anna. My brothers were Charles, Gordon, Raymond, John, and Donald.”

His mother, Anna, and his brother, John, at Fort McCall, Alabama during Basic Training.

“My brother Charles...he had a bad deal. He loved to swim. He was one of the best swimmers in the neighborhood. On his 16^th birthday, he went to swim at the quarry with a group of kids. He went swimmin’ but he didn’t make it...he drowned. He was a big guy. I was a little tiny kid at the time.”

“Jean was John’s twin. He was born first, and they said ‘she missed the train.’(Author’s note: She was stillborn). She was born 25 minutes after him.”

Mr. Ranald (left), and his Sister's (Thelma) husband

Thelma's Obituary

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?

“Never really thought about it.” He adds with a laugh, “When you’re number 10 in 11 kids...well, you fight for your food.”

9. What did y’all do for fun?

“We stole cigarettes out of my sister's purse. That’s how I got my first cigarette. My sister Viola, she left her purse sitting out on the counter in the kitchen. I looked in it and saw the cigarettes. I went out back of the house, and laid down so no one could see me. I smoked that cigarette. When I got done I went back into the house, up the stairs to my bedroom and thought I was gonna die.”

10. How do you remember holidays growing up?

“They were always a good time. You got a good meal. Everyone got a good present, except me. My birthday was December 17, so they combined my birthday and Christmas. I would get a present like everyone else, but mine would say ‘happy birthday.’”

11. What was your favorite food that your Mother or Father made?

“I didn’t have a favorite, I just loved to eat!”

12. What was your first job?

“General Motors. I was one of the youngest on the crew at General Motors. I quit there and went into the service. I enlisted at the Fort Niagara Military Post.”

Ranald's brother's Mercury car in front of the family home.

13. What was your first car?

“A Hudson Terraplane. It was the first car that I owned and drove. I paid $250 for it. I drove it more cross-country than I did on the road! I took it when I went hunting and everything! Later, my brother had ordered a car. He had it comin’ but he enlisted in the Service. He ended up leaving before the car got there. They couldn’t collect for it until you got out of Service. He told me, ‘I’ll let you drive the car as much as you want, as long as you pay for it.‘ So I paid for it, and got the car. It was a Mercury car.”

A card showing his enrollment in the New York State Ranger School

14. Did you go to College?

“New York State Ranger School.”

Mr. Ranald and his wife (center) dining with friends

15. When and where did you meet your spouse?

“I met her when I was working for Baker’s Engineers. I met my wife, Ann Ruth, when I was surveying for Interstate 75 in West Virginia. I was staying in a hotel there, and she was a maid at the hotel. We got to talking a lot. I’d come in at night, and she worked in the restaurant part of the hotel, and she’d always come and get my order. That’s how we got together."

“One day I came in and she wanted to go visit Betty (Ann Ruth's daughter). Betty was married up there and had 3 kids. I took her up there. Betty was getting stuff ready for dinner. And I heard Betty tell her daughter, Stacey, ‘Well, why don’t you ask him?’ And Stacey came up to me and asked ‘Would it be alright if we called you Grandpa?’ I said, ‘That’ll make me happy.’ So we were the best of friends and still are. That was my first meeting with Stacey. It wasn’t too long after that Ann and I got married.”

Mr. Ranald and his wife, Ann Ruth

16. What was the first thing you noticed about her?

He said, laughing, “Maybe I’d get my face slapped if I said.”

17. Where was your wedding?

“We got married in...oh, I don’t even remember the name of the town now. It was in Southwestern New York.”

18. What is the key to a happy marriage?

“If you have any difficulties, just go out and get drunk.” He laughs and says, “I had once bought a scuba suit when I was surveying. I’d spent $400 on the scuba suit. Well, it was up in New York with my wife. I was heading home for a week’s vacation. When I got home, I told her I was planning to go and do some scuba diving. She said ‘you don’t have a scuba suit anymore.’ I asked why, and she said ‘I sold it, but I got good money for it.’ I asked how much she’d gotten for it. She said ‘Oh a lot, I got $50.’ So, in the end, I had the glass piece that goes over your face, and the flippers for my $400.”

19. Tell me about your kids.

“I came in more as a grandparent. For a while, I was having a hard time keeping track of all that I had.”

20. What was your hardest moment as a parent?

“I really didn’t have any hard moments. I only had to spank one of my grandkids. I’d told Jason ‘We’ll go fishing after I get some stuff done for your grandma.’ Well, he came back a few times and asked when we were going fishing. I told him again, ‘I’ve got a few things to do for your grandma, then we’ll go.’ Well, Jason came up and kicked me in the leg, and before I knew it, I’d picked him up by the collar and popped him on the bottom.”

21. What was something you wish you would’ve known when you were younger?

“I don’t know. I always did what I pleased. Of course, I caught hell sometimes.”

22. If you had one “do-over” in life, what would it be?

“I’m not sure. I told Brandy once that the Withlacoochee River was called the ‘Whistlin’ cootie River,’ and she went to school and told her teacher that.”

23. What advice would you give a young person?
“Don’t listen to what to what I tell you.”

24. What legacy would you like to be known for?

“I’m a bullshitter.”

“I did what I could to get out of a bad situation at times.”

When asked, his great-granddaughter Brandy added this: “His legacy would be his ability to love unconditionally. He doesn’t have any blood children or grandchildren, but he would drop anything for us. With the War, he did it from his heart to protect his people and his country. He didn’t want any reward for it, he did it solely out of love.”

Brandy Bonnano and her Great-Grandfather

25. Tell me about World War II.

“I was working at General Motors, and some of the guys I knew had already enlisted. I had already gone to CMTC--Citizen’s Military Training Camp--for two years I’d spent at Fort Niagara.” “Four of my brothers enlisted. This was right after the incident with the Sullivan brothers. So we had to lie a little here and there. (Author’s note: The Sullivan Brothers were WWII Sailors who all served together on the USS Juneau. They were all killed in action when the USS Juneau sunk on November 13, 1942. After this incident, and several related cases, the Military enacted a Sole Survivor Policy that would protect family members from the draft or combat duty if they had already lost a family member in Military Service). My brother Donald was in the Military Police. My brother John served in the Guata Canal. My brother Raymond was an Aerial Gunner over North Africa.”

“I enlisted at the Fort Niagara Military Post. From there, I completed Basic Training at Fort Riley, Kansas. I was part of the American Mechanized Cavalry. Later I was part of the Horse Cavalry. I loved horses. I really loved them. I took such good care of my horse while I was in the service, I got recommended for a lot of things because of it. In the morning, when I’d go to start work in the Service, we’d all go down to the corral. I’d climb up on the gate and whistle and yell ‘Hey babe!’ The horse would come over at a trot. Clomp clomp clomp...and would come and stand over by the gate.”

“(Points to wrist), If you look real close you can see where I had to cut it open to get the metal out. They tried to give me a Purple Heart, but I told them I didn’t come to fight for medals, I came to kill Japs. So they took my name off the list, and I didn’t get a medal.”

Mr. Ranald, goofing off, wearing his Air Force buddy's hat

“(When talking about fighting in the War) I’d shoot anyone that has killed an American.”

“I have a German 7.65 mm pistol. Part of it’s gone. I got it from a Jap...he didn’t need it anymore. I still have it, but part of it’s missing. You can still shoot it, but you have to be real careful.”

(2nd row from top, 7th person from left) Mr. Ranald is shown with his group at Fort Riley, Kansas

“My brother was in North Africa, and on the Hookley River, and we were pushing the Japs back. They were diggin’ in during the day. But then at night, they would put their boats back in the water and go down the river. So we found out where they started and where they ended, and got in touch with the Air Force. They sent a couple of planes over. And they went up the river and bombed every bit of the river. Killed all the Japs that were in it. And it was my brother’s Air Force plane that came and helped us.”

(2nd row from top, 8th person from left) At Fort Riley, Kansas

"We had a B47, a fighter plane, that was straight along River Road. And we were on River Road. One of their planes, it didn’t get shot down, it conked out on them. And he was down there, close to where the Japs were, but he was up on the hill above the road. So they couldn’t see him. So they sent word to us, and we went over there with six guys. We got him up, away from the road. And took him as far back as our campsite. The next day, we were sitting at the campsite and we got word that they were going to drop stuff off on our landing strip, where we got supplies and stuff. We sent some boys out there and boy, was it good. That was the Air Force that did that. They said because we had helped their guy, they gave us a month’s supply of beer. I had one can! We had one guy, George Wright, he had one can and we had to take and put him to bed because he was drunk!”

“One time, we’d captured this one town, and we turned it over to the Chinese. The Chinese were on our side. JJ Connolly and I went down to see how they were doing. We were trying to help them out as much as we could. We stopped and we were talking with them. JJ went up to this man, and he didn’t know it was a Chinese officer. And he went up to him and said “good or bad” in Chinese. The guy looked at him and pushed him away and stared at him. JJ took one swing and the guy wound up laying in the ditch. All these other Chinese were coming in, and they were going to go after him. Well I hollered at him, and told him to duck down in the ditch, and I covered him. They got pretty close to him, and I made him lay down. They started coming and I got on the road in front of them, and I put on my bayonet--they don’t like a bayonet...they make a mess--and I put my rifle up at ready and pointed it at them. I guess none of them wanted to be the first one dead, and they finally backed up. We stayed there all night. They came close a few times, but I’d keep them back. When it started getting light, we got back on the Burma road we got on a truck and they took us back.”

“I got robbed by the American soldiers. I shot an officer and I got his Samurai sword. I didn’t leave it any place, because they would’ve walked away with it. The Supply Sergeant said to bring it over to the Supply tent so he could keep a watch over it. He said nobody would bother it there. So I took it over there. That evening after the fighting and everything, I went to see about getting it. He said ‘Oh my God, I forgot all about it. Somebody came in here and took that out of here.’ So I lost my Samurai sword.”

Map of Burma and China

26. Tell me about the places you were stationed during WWII.

“China, Burma, and India. The countryside was nice. At night, you’d lay there, covered up, and listen to the tigers bellowing."

"The only animal I ever killed like that was a tiger. We would walk every morning so many miles in one direction, and then back. One day, a kid came out yelling in Hindu. Finally someone got an idea for what it was. He was running away from something. A tiger was attacking his dad. We went down there, and the tiger turned towards us, and I shot. The old man was pretty torn up."

Mr. Ranald (bottom row, third from left) pictured here with a group of his Army buddies

27. What was your proudest moment during WWII?

“When they said ‘You’re on your way home.’ I came home, but then I volunteered to go back to help those that were stuck over there. Tank Lee brought it up after one of our parades. He said ‘there is one man that went back to help...and that man is Ranald L’Hommedieu.’ I felt this high (raises his hand)!”

28. What was your scariest or hardest moment during the war?

“I stayed out of sight as best I could. There were times when we wished we were out of there...but I tried to forget those times."

"One of the hardest things was when we had to dig graves. We buried 82 of my friends. I didn’t like that one bit. But I did what they asked me to, I dug the hole."

Knights of King Neptune Certificate

29. Describe how you felt when you came back on American soil?

“Good. It was a good feeling to come back to America with all my buddies with me...well, some of them.”

“When I got back to the States. I come up from New York City by train up to Rochester. I got off the train and went to the bus station. The bus was going to take me to where my family was. I got on the bus and walked back, and I asked the driver how much the toll was. He put his hand on the thing, so I couldn’t put any money in it. He said ‘everybody back in the bus.’ Everybody pulled away, and I was standing there. It was crowded. I went to put money in the coin thing, and the driver put his hand there so I couldn’t put any money in it. Kinda makes you feel a little funny. I mean, not funny ‘haha.’ When the little old lady that wanted to give me her seat on the bus, though. No way.”

Cavalry Capers

Army Memorabilia

30. In all of the Presidents you have seen in office, which one was your favorite?

“Franklin Delano Roosevelt. My outfit rode escort for him. He came into Fort Riley, Kansas. And he stood up in the convertible he was in and he waved to the men. And boy, you couldn’t hear a thing for miles around for all the yellin’ they were doing."

"Every comedian would end with: ‘If any of you have seen Eleanor, for God’s sakes, send her home.’ It always got a big laugh."

Random Quotes:

“Betty wanted to go down and get a drink one day, and I went with her. We went down to the little place on the corner, Elsie’s Place. My wife was in the kitchen trying to get dinner ready, and she called Elsie’s Place. She told Elsie she didn’t want me and Betty getting drunk together. Elsie told her that we weren’t. We were on separate ends of the bar.”

“Well the Veterans that we brought back from Vietnam...they did them dirty. I was ready to quit the country. When you go over there and someone’s shootin’ at you, and you shoot them, you’ve done something wrong. Hell, they were shootin’ at you! What were you supposed to do?”

"Never drink water without first sterilizing it with bourbon."

Army of the United States Honorable Discharge Certificate

Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Army

Mr. Ranald (pictured on far left) with a group of friends at a restaurant in Washington D.C. He had been set up on a blind date on this evening. (Author's note: I am LOVING the bow tie)