A perfect gift for WW II vet

BOONE, Iowa — In a family that prides itself on more than 160 years fighting for America’s freedom, Wayne Doxsee found the perfect gift for his father, a World War II veteran, just in time for Veteran’s Day this year — a shadow box of Fredrick Thomas Doxsee’s World War II mementos.

Fredrick Doxsee was drafted into the Army on his 18th birthday — June 30, 1944. He had wanted to join the Navy, but his parents would not sign for him to enlist.

“They didn’t want me to be in anything,” Fredrick Doxsee said. “So, I just waited and was drafted.”

Wayne Doxsee collected all of the stories about his father’s service in a book, including recollections of his induction in December 1944 in Chicago. He gave his father the hardbound book for his 80th birthday in 2006.

“He vividly recalls that the smell of new Army clothes in the building where he was inducted was overwhelming,” Wayne Doxsee wrote.

Fredrick Doxsee went through fast-paced infantry training at Camp Croft in South Carolina, earning an expert shooting medal for his marksmanship with the M-1 and Browning automatic rifle.

“That was a little too heavy,” Fredrick Doxsee said of the Browning rifle. “I was 118 pounds and still 18 when I went overseas. I could hardly lift that ... that was the heavy one.”

The Battle of the Bulge was raging, and casualties were high. Fredrick Doxsee boarded a ship in March 1945 and spent 12 days at sea before arriving in France, where he joined the 12th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, Company B, as a forward scout.

He served in Europe until Germany surrendered. Fredrick Doxsee was transferred to France before returning to the United States on July 12, 1945, to begin training for a new battle — the invasion of Japan. While undergoing training, however, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, ending Fredrick Doxsee’s training for the invasion.

He was proud of his military service, and when one of his sons, Wayne Doxsee, was drafted to serve in Vietnam, he took pride in his son’s service — continuing as the fifth generation of Doxsee family members to serve their country.

After Wayne Doxsee’s Vietnam tour, Fredrick Doxsee gave his son two items from his own military experience — his old dog tag, his World War II victory medal, and a photograph of his outfit. His other medals — the expert shooting medal and medals for good conduct, American Campaign, Europe-Africa-ME and the Battle of the Bulge — had been lost years earlier.

Of all his medals, his most prized was the combat infantryman medal showing a gun emblazoned on a blue background.

“What I was more proud of than anything was that combat badge,” Fredrick Doxsee said.

The medal was awarded to infantrymen who were involved in combat during World War II, and the recognition gave Fredrick Doxsee great pride. The combat medal was one that had been lost over the years.

Wayne Doxsee set out to honor his father’s service and learn more about the Doxsee family’s military legacy.

“When we did the book, it kind of sparked some interest,” Wayne Doxsee said. “I think it was at that time he gave me the dog tag and one of the other medals, since I had been in the military, and so I put them away, thinking I would look into it.”

The book included several photos of him during his service, documented a few of his stories for future generations and gave him something capable of sparking his memories of the war.

“So I never expected anything more,” Fredrick Doxsee said.

Wayne Doxsee knew the impact that military history had on a veteran like his father. As a veteran himself, Wayne Doxsee visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., which filled him with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that his name was not engraved on the black granite wall.

Before presenting his father with the book, he had a chance to give his father this same feeling — taking his father to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. He documented the experience in his book.

“Although Dad never thought much of memorials, after the visit Dad could not express in words what a thrill it was to be able to see the WWII memorial,” Wayne Doxsee wrote. “He never dreamed he would see the memorial in his lifetime. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to make this dream come true. Dad believes the real veterans are like Private Ryan in the movie — ‘just doing their job and hopefully being a good person after their service.’ In this sense, my dad is a real veteran.”

Driven by the motivation to honor his dad, Wayne Doxsee began doing research. He found the medals his father had lost and had them re-issued.

After having the medals reissued, Wayne Doxsee had them framed in a shadow box with engraved tags for each medal, and a picture of his father and a plaque at the bottom that said: “Fredrick T. Doxsee, World War II, 4th Infantry Division, 12th Regiment Co. B, Battle of the Bulge, 1944-1945.”

Living just outside Hershey, Pa., Wayne Doxsee surprised his father with a weekend visit to Boone, bringing the box of medals, as well as a restored picture of Fredrick Doxsee’s photo of his outfit matted and restored from it’s original rolled-up, torn photograph.

Looking at the restored photograph, Fredrick Doxsee recalled the day the photo was taken and given to the soldiers.

“They rolled them up and rubber-banded them and passed them out to all the guys,” he said. “They probably sold them to us, knowing the Army, which was all right.”

“I was sure surprised when he said he was coming. That combat badge ... that’s one that was close to me. Of course, when you get married and have kids, stuff disappears. I don’t know how I could ever thank him for all the work, money and everything else he put together. I don’t know how to thank him.”

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