Royce remembered
It is with special sadness that I read of Virdin Royce's death and, of course, of all the other 99'ers whom I interviewed. Virdin was a modest, salt-of-the-earth fellow who talked to me candidly about his experiences without claiming any heroic deeds for himself. He confessed that he prayed during combat, which was of great comfort to him. But suddenly he began to weep, saying "those other fellows prayed too but they didn't come back." After 57 years he had not forgotten, and the pain had not left him, an unseen, painful psychic wound, which time had not healed.
Robert E. Humphrey
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