Neighbors

Brothers meet
behind the lines

Jim Larkey was a member of I/394 in the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. His brother, Lewis was a lieutenant in 2nd Division anti-aircraft and next in line to the 99th.

Jim and Lewis first met before the Bulge while I Company was still in the forest and attached to the 394th Infantry Regiment. Lewis found the company CP and Capt. Morris sent for Jim. As Jim approached, he walked right past his brother without recognizing him. The two had a good laugh and were able to meet several times, during which they took the photo at right.

The rest of the story, as they say, is that Jim’s mother hadn’t heard from him in six weeks. She notified Lewis, asking him to find Jim. He sent a copy of the photo to her. Jim said, “I thought we looked wonderful, but my mother was distraught about how awful we appeared.”

By coincidence, Lewis’s CP was in Elsenborn and Jim was able to see his house from his foxhole. Jim managed to get into town by carrying wounded into the aid station. “I visited him, had a shower, a good meal, and he drove me back the next day,” Jim said. After that, the brothers didn’t see each other until they got home.