By John ‘Butch’ Dale
Guest Columnist
Previously I wrote about the summer of 1956, when I was 7 years old, and my Dad signed me up for Farm League baseball. My first coach was Marion “Runt” Maxwell, who coached boys of all ages for the teams sponsored by the Darlington American Legion.
Runt was my coach each summer until I was in high school. He stressed fundamentals and was very patient with each boy on the team. Runt also demanded that everyone put forth 100% effort, and win or lose, show good sportsmanship.
Many people in the Darlington area had nicknames. It was almost a requirement! Runt was so named because he was the shortest one in his family, which included 16 brothers and sisters! Runt graduated in 1936 during the Great Depression. Along with many other young men in the community, he enlisted in Company E, 151st Infantry division of the local National Guard.
When World War II began, most of these men ended up fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific theater, and saw heavy combat at Bataan, Corregidor, the Phillipines, and other islands. As a youngster, I was not aware of what Runt and all of the other veterans had gone through. Just like my dad, who fought in Europe, they never talked much about the war.
While looking through old issues of the Darlington Herald newspaper a few years ago, I ran across the following letter that Runt had sent to Rev. A. L. Vermillion and was printed on the front page, part of which is shown below …
“Dear Reverend, I have an incident I want you to tell your congregation if you care to. Sometime ago during a very trying moment for some of my men and myself this incident occurred. In one of our foxholes three of the men had some of their personal belongings in an old ammunition box, on top of the box was placed the Holy Bible. A Jap sneaked up to the position and threw a demolition charge into it. The box, belongings, and everything was blown away and destroyed. The Holy Bible was still there after the smoke cleared, not a scratch on it. It goes to show that no matter what happens, God’s words cannot be destroyed. We all pray every night, and I hate to say it, concerning myself, it took a war to make me a Christian.”
This Guard unit fought for every inch of those islands. Some of the men, including Don Weliever and Eugene “Beaner” Hampton, were seriously injured. Other men, such as Damon Francis, did not make it home. Thirteen other Darlington soldiers died fighting in Europe against the Nazis. Runt came close to not making it back alive. Here is an article from the Herald:
“In the assault on Hill Two on Caballo Island, Lt. Maxwell was second in command of the attacking platoon. Shortly after the attack, he became isolated with one squad from the rest of the platoon by intense enemy machine gun fire and small arms fire.
“After determining the position of the enemy guns, he moved the squad through intense enemy fire, in a flanking movement, enabling them to get in the rear of the enemy emplacements. With complete disregard for personal safety, he led other members of the squad forward under fire, into the positions, killing several of the enemy, and destroying much of their equipment. He again attacked the enemy positions with smoke grenades, thus allowing the first platoon to gain the top of Hill Two with a minimum of casualties. The gallant action, and daring leadership of Lt. Maxwell contributed to the gaining of Caballo Island.”
Marion “Runt” Maxwell was awarded two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars during his service in World War II. He was happy to come back to his hometown, where he married, raised a family of four children, and served as the postmaster and rural carrier for many years. I think Runt coached baseball, with very little pay, for all of those years … yes, because he loved the sport, but primarily because he wanted to give back to the people and country he loved.
Thanks, Runt, for your bravery and service to our country. There are people today who have very little knowledge of our nation’s history. Some of these people love to protest, criticize, and spew hatred for America. And there are many, many people who have no desire to give back to society for the freedoms they enjoy.
Marion “Runt” Maxwell was a great coach … and like the many other brave men I knew when I was growing up in the little town of Darlington, Indiana … he was also a true hero.
