A Company of Heroes

by Marcus Brotherton

  So long,

  “Rip”

  The grueling training continued.

  Dear folks,

  I am back in camp again after being out in the field for 3 days. This is the first full night’s sleep I’ve had in 7 days. I am so fried there’s no feeling left in my legs and shoulders. Have been only getting about 2 hours sleep out of the 24 for 6 days.

  I hear some of us are going to be shipped out this week. If I am in that bunch, it looks like I’ll be long gone. I’ll write and let you know where I am when I get across. Maybe I won’t ever be called.

  So long,

  Bob

  Wounded in Training

  In late spring 1943, Bob was injured in a jump and initially told he would be washed out of the paratroopers. He wrote from Post Hospital ward B-108 in Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky, and let his disappointment show:I bailed out about 350 feet and the next thing hit a tree. The thing that hurts most is that they have disqualified me, which means I won’t jump anymore. I think they will keep me on jump pay till the outfit ships out and then send me to a replacement center.

  Anyway, it has been nice knowing the 506th.

  The last 4 jumps were hell anyway, everyone in trees, and we had about 80 pounds of equipment on.

  Damn it all. I am stuck in a hospital and the rest of the outfit is down in Tenn or Ala. I’ll have a hell of a time finding them.

  So long and don’t worry about me,

  Bob

  In summer 1943 he wrote from a different hospital in Fort Bragg, North Carolina:Dear Johnny,

  My papers came through and they read physically unfit as a soldier so that doesn’t sound too good. I don’t know where they are going to ship me or when. Most likely I’ll spend a couple months in the hospital getting in shape again.

  Johnny, I want you to do me a favor. Here’s the setup. I got paid the other day and got 190 bucks. The first chance I get to town I’ll send you $100. I want you to put it in the bank in your name or hold it for me. When I get out of this outfit I may not be paid for 2 or 3 months if I go to a convalescence hospital.

  So long,

  Bob

  Robert was eventually allowed back into the unit, but does not go into detail why. Altogether, he was hospitalized for 31 days. There were continued problems with his health, and he was not sure what his permanent status would be. He figured he would likely get transferred to limited service or receive a medical discharge, as reflected in the following three letters.

  July 18, 1943

  Fort Bragg, North Carolina

  Dear Johnny and Susie,

  The maneuvers are all over now. I got in on the last 2 weeks of them. Boy, it’s pretty rough keeping up with the outfit after being in the hospital 31 days.

  The last problem was pretty tough. We made a beach head on the Cumberland River and took Hartsville at daylight the next morning. We had to pack those damn boats ½ mile to get to the river. There wasn’t a stitch of dry clothing on me when we got them in the water.

  It’s really hot down here and I’ve got a swell tan.

  Well Johnny I got to drive one of those trucks last night. I drove one of those 6 wheelers up here from the other side of Nashville. They sure handle nice and lots of guts. I had 26 men and full equipment on it.

  So long,

  Bob

  P.S. I am hiding out of skipping details so if they catch me I’ll get

  Sunday K.P. That don’t worry me because I am broke and I’ll get my belly full of good chow once again.

  Those maneuvers were pretty rough and the chiggers were terrible. My whole body is covered with bites. I got 27 bites on one ankle. The chiggers are worse than mosquitoes because they burrow under the skin and die. They become infected and really itch.

  The rumor is I won’t get a furlough until I get a transfer to limited service. You can’t get anything definite. As I say, it’s just a rumor.

  August 8, 1943

  Columbia, South Carolina

  Dear Johnny and Susie,

  I am on a 10-day furlough now. Out of a blue sky the C.O. called me into his office and asked me if I wanted a furlough. I took it. Something smells in this deal. You see, I am up for a medical discharge and they canceled a furlough for me 2 weeks ago. I can’t tell you very much about it as it involves too much military.

  I am having a swell time down here in Columbia. I am just taking it easy, out hitchhiking from one town to another. Say Johnny, I won’t send that money home as I am using it on my furlough.

  I am sending you a bag with some clothes I have to get rid of. That gabardine jacket is a present for you. It’s a little large for me so should fit you.

  So long,

  Bob

  August 22, 1943

  Fort Bragg

  Dear Johnny and Susie,

  I am still going down to the dispensary and hospital every day. I can’t seem to get any action on the situation.

  It’s so darn hot we can’t hardly stand it. A lot of the men have heat rash all over their bodies. So far I’ve been lucky.

  So long you all,

  Bob

  Sent Overseas to Fight

  All Robert’s health problems eventually get squared away and he was permanently reinstated in the company. Two letters were sent home, one from Robert, the other a form letter sent to Johnny from Captain Herbert Sobel. The men were at Camp Shanks in New York, set to board the troop ship Samaria and be sent overseas.

  August 31, 1943

  New York City

  Dear Johnny and Susie,

  I’ve changed my address again. Isn’t this one beautiful? The weather is grand. It’s cool just like home.

  I can’t say very much so this will have to be a short letter. There are a lot of things I’d like to tell you, but it’s too involved with the U.S. here.

  This may be the last letter I’ll get to write to you in a long time.

  Bob

  The letter from Sobel to Johnny Klinkert has been circulated on the Internet. It’s printed below, shown in its greater context. The letter was written in cursive on Company E letterhead.

  27 August 1943

  Dear Sir:

  Soon your brother-in-law, Pfc. Robert Van Klinken will drop from the sky to engage and defeat the enemy. He will have the best of weapons and equipment and have had months of hard strenuous training to prepare him for success on the battlefield.

  Your frequent letters of love and encouragement will arm him with a fighting heart. With that he cannot fail but will win glory for himself, make you proud of him, and his country ever grateful for his service during its hour of need.

  Herbert M. Sobel, Capt.,

  Commanding

  There were no letters sent home during the months of training in Aldbourne.

  Robert made the D-day jump on June 6, 1944, with Easy Company and survived but was wounded and sent to the hospital. He wrote a V-Mail home from England on June 14, 1944. (Note that he signed this letter “love Bob,” when he signed all other letters “So long.”)

  Dear Susan and Johnny,

  I don’t know if I answered your last 2 letters or not. I received your package. Me and the boys ate the cake and cookies just before we got in the plane to make that jump in France.

  I found plenty of fireworks over there but the Jerrys aren’t as tough as I figured they were. They sure can’t stop the paratroops.

  Well Johnny I got a piece of shrapnel in my arm so they sent me back to England. My arm is okay as it’s just a flesh wound.

  You know Johnny, it’s worse back here in the hospital than it is at the front. You get to thinking about your buddies you lost over there and you can’t do anything about it. Hope they can send me back soon so I can get another crack at them. Tell the folks how I am getting along.

  Love, Bob

  Robert wrote next on September 7, 1944. He had been sent back to his unit from the hospital. He mentioned writing a girl named Phyllis who lived near his hometown.

  Dear Johnny and Susie,


  Received your Vmail a few days ago, was sure tickled to hear from you kids. I am getting along pretty well over here even if I do a little sweating once in a while.

  How do you like living up at Holden? It sure is beautiful up there this time of year. Johnny should have a good time fishing. There is plenty of good lakes close there.

  I haven’t heard from Phyllis for a month and a half. It doesn’t matter as there is too much to worry about over here, and there will be lots of girls left in the states when I get back.

  I am sending you a money order for you to take care of. Also, get something for your birthday.

  So Long,

  Bob

  Ten days after this letter was written, the men would jump during Operation Market-Garden. Bob would jump with his company and fight to liberate Holland.

  That was the last letter home Robert ever wrote.

  When the News Arrived

  The next correspondence was dated October 9, 1944, sent to Johnny. It was a Western Union telegraph and read simply:The secretary of war desires me to express his deep regret that your brother-in-law Pvt. Robert Van Klinken was killed in action of the 20th of September in Holland. Letter following.

  Ulio-adj. General

  The news followed on War Department letterhead. It was dated October 11, 1944, also sent to Johnny.

  Dear Mr. Klinkert,

  It is with regret that I am writing to confirm the recent telegram informing you of the death of your brother-in-law, Private Robert Van Klinken, who was killed in action on 20 September 1944 in Holland.

  I fully understand your desire to learn as much as possible regarding the circumstances leading to his death, and I wish that there were more information available to you. Unfortunately, reports of this nature contain only the briefest details as they are prepared under battle conditions and the means of transmission are limited.

  I know the sorrow this message has brought you, and it is my hope that in time the knowledge of his heroic service to his country, even unto death, may be of sustaining comfort to you.

  I extend to you my deepest sympathy.

  Sincerely yours,

  J.A. Ulio

  Major General,

  The adjutant General,

  A Western Union telegram was dated the same day, sent by Johnny to inform Robert’s mom. (Herman was Robert’s uncle, who lived on the same ranch as his mom.)

  Herman Van Klinken

  Attendance Mrs. Alexander

  Winthrop, Washington

  Please advise Mrs. Walter Van Klinken personally that I received the following message last night. The sec of war desires to express his deepest regret that your brother-in-law Pvt Robert Van Klinken was killed in action the 20th of Sept in Holland. Letter following.

  John F. Klinkert

  On December 27, 1944, Robert’s father received a letter from the secretary of war, Washington, DC:My dear Mr. Van Klinken:

  At the request of the president, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Private Van Klinken, Infantry, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country.

  Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in this battle for our country, is a loss shared by all of us.

  When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy, and the hope that time and the victory of our cause will finally lighten the burden of your grief.

  Sincerely yours,

  Henry L. Stimson

  Major General Maxwell Taylor wrote to Johnny on January 20, 1945, from the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division: Dear Mr. Klinkert,

  I am sorry that I have not been able to write you before to express my deep personal sympathy to you in the loss of your brother-in-law, Private Robert Van Klinken.

  He was killed in action on 20 September 1944 while fighting gallantly with our forces in Holland. His courageous example has had a profound influence on all who knew him and his memory will always remain with those who fought with him.

  If it has not already done so, your brother-in-law’s unit will furnish you with such details of his death and burial as are permitted under existing censorship regulations. I regret that the information is necessarily meager for the present.

  The officers and men of this Division join me in extending to you our sincere sympathy in the loss of your brother-in-law and our Comrade-in-Arms.

  Sincerely yours,

  Gen. Maxwell Taylor

  On April 13, 1945, Captain John R. Himes, chaplain with the 506th PIR, wrote to Robert’s mother:Dear Mrs. Van Klinken:

  I believe I can answer some of the questions in your letter concerning the death of your son, Robert Van Klinken, who was killed in Holland, September 20, 1944. Robert was killed while voluntarily acting as a scout locating enemy positions during an attack. He was given a Christian burial in a military cemetery in Holland.

  You asked for the names of some of his friends. I can give you these, Sgt. Denver Randleman, Pvt. William Wingett.

  The Company Commander and I both extend our sympathy to you in Robert’s passing. He was a fine soldier, and an expert rifle shot, and was aggressive and brave in action. He served his country very well. We pray that you may find a great measure of consolation in the cause of Liberty and Justice for which Robert gave himself.

  Yours very truly,

  John R. Himes

  Chaplain

  Four years later, on March 31, 1949, a final letter was sent from the War Department to Robert’s mother, notifying her that Robert’s remains were interred at the U.S. Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland.

  Robert’s Legacy

  The years passed, and Gariann notes that nobody in the family today specifically remembers having a service for Robert back in the States, but she assumes they did. There’s a grave marker for him up at the Beaver Creek Cemetery in Twisp, although it lists the wrong year of Robert’s death—1943 instead of 1944.

  Susie’s daughter, Cora Bingman, notes that her mother took the news hard for many years. Susie was a strong Christian woman and agonized with her feelings, mostly with the resentment she felt. Then, in the late 1980s, some forty-five years after her brother died, Cora went into her mother’s house one day to find her sobbing.

  “Mom what’s wrong?” Cora said.

  “Today is the day I finally have forgiveness in my heart,” Grandma Susie said. The burden of hatred was finally gone from her life.

  Grandma Susie always wanted to go to Holland to see her brother’s grave, but was never able to. Then in 1995, Gariann and a girlfriend decided to backpack around Europe. Gariann asked her grandma if there was anything she wanted her to do while over there. Gariann still gets choked up when she thinks about it. Her grandmother said, “Tell him we love him and haven’t forgotten.” Then her grandma broke down and cried.

  Gariann went to visit the family’s Dutch relatives, then went to visit her great uncle’s grave and whispered her grandma’s words.

  A neighbor of the Van Klinken family named Chuck Borg was just a young boy when news of Robert’s death came to the town. Chuck’s family lived across the road from the Van Klinken’s cabin. The news of Robert’s death left an impression on Chuck for years and he eventually went into the Army himself, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

  Years later, he was walking through a cemetery in Holland and saw the name Robert Van Klinken. It profoundly affected him. Chuck wrote home immediately and told his folks about it. When reading Band of Brothers several years later, he came across the name of his mom’s old neighbor and friend once again. Chuck contacted the Twisp Chamber of Commerce and got in touch with my aunt and myself. Since then he has been an adopted part of our family. When he returned to the States to live, he established the Robert Van Klinken Memorial Scholarship at Liberty Bell High School in Twisp, where Robert w
ent to school. The scholarship awards college money to hardworking, adventuresome country boys, similar to Robert’s personality and drive.

  This past year on Veteran’s Day, Robert’s great-grand-nephew, J. R. Matkins, took a picture of Robert Van Klinken to his third grade class along with the book Band of Brothers. The eight-year-old told his classmates about his relative who gave his life in the war so that generations could live in freedom. His classmates were impressed. J. R. also went to last year’s Easy Company reunion along with his family.

  For years, very few of the specific details of Robert Van Klinken’s death were known to his family. Then, during the writing of this book, the family of Burton “Pat” Christenson and the Van Klinkens were connected, and details were shared for the first time. [To read the details, please see the essay about Pat Christenson.]