Thanks to donations, World War II vet going to reunion

When Frank Conte and the 94th Infantry Division were fighting their way across northern Europe during World War II, Conte’s K Company was about 200 strong.

Thanks to donations from his fellow rally-goers at Monument Terrace and from other members of the community, Conte will leave this week for the division’s 60th reunion in Nashville.

It’s a bittersweet trip.

In early reunions of the division, more than 100 men from his company would attend.

“That was nice,” Conte said. “Slowly but surely, though, they started dying.”

He said he believes this reunion will be the division’s last and as such, it’s important to him to be there, even if this year he only sees two or three friends from his days in the Army.

At the age of 87, Conte has a lot of the aches and pains and limited retirement income that would make it hard for anyone of his vintage to make a trip to Nashville.

Add to that a bum knee from getting knocked over in rough seas on his way home from the war, scars from being wounded at Etel, France, in 1944 and nerves in his feet that still trouble him from freezing in a foxhole to the point they were nearly amputated.

Conte also won the Bronze Star when he and two other sergeants crossed the Rhine River in 1945 in a rubber boat to gather information about possible resistance in Düsseldorf. The men left their rifles on the friendly bank. When they got to the other side, they found German soldiers had been deserting their units.

A few days later, the Army occupied the city with little resistance.

Jerry Bowles is a Korean War veteran from Forest who attends the “Support Our Troops” rally every Friday at Monument Terrace with Conte. When he heard that Conte was having trouble getting money together, he stepped up to help.

“I was proud to do it, too,” Bowles said. “I got around with my family and friends and literally begged and pleaded and told the story of Frank.

“He fought his way all across Europe. He is truly deserving of going to this reunion. I thought the least I could do was my part.”

With Bowles gathering a large donation and a check from Dodson Pest Control President Bert Dodson, Conte said he plans to leave for Nashville at the end of this week.

Conte said he worked for Dodson, the city’s vice mayor, for more than 20 years.

As part of the reunion, Conte plans to attend the Grand Ole Opry on Friday night and a special division banquet Saturday.

The banquet, he said, is the main event.

While Conte said this will be his last reunion, 94th Infantry Division Association Secretary Harry Helms said it remains to be seen whether this is the division’s last.

Helms, a division veteran who lives in Pennsylvania, said it will be tough to get another one together.

“One of the problems with going another year is we don’t know how many people will be left,” Helms said.

Venues, he said, require a commitment on attendance. When the association can’t make its marks, the venues charge penalties.

“It’s sad,” he said.

A decade ago, the reunions drew an average of 700 division veterans. These days there may be 150 to 200 veterans.

Friends and family now boost attendance, Helms said. These people now come with their parents, grandparents and, in some cases, great-grandparents.

After the reunion, Helms said, the 94th Division Historical Society, which is made up of these family members, will take over the role of the association along with the living division veterans in carrying on traditions and preserving the division’s memorials.

Conte said he’ll be living that memorial this coming weekend with people who shared experiences that others either don’t remember or can’t understand.

“We had some fun, but there were times when you couldn’t get out of your hole,” he said.

“The war was terrible. People don’t know.”