Dying Breed of Veterans Remember World War II

Almost 60years since the end of World War II, and the men and women who died during that war finally have a national memorial in their honor. Althought, some local World War II veterans couldn`t make it to the dedication in Washington, D.C. they still managed to celebrate, at their own memorial program in Hot Springs. VFW Post 2278 held the program for several distinguished vets. They`ve been dubbed the heroes of the greatest generation: the soldiers who fought during World War II. "If I had to do it over again, same circumstances, I`d do it again," said John Black, a retired sailor. But those that lived through the war are dying everyday now, by the thousand. "I`m 85. How many men is that old, that have fought in WWII? There`s damn few of us left," said Doyle Murphy, a retired Army soldier. Murphy enlisted in 1941, making $21 a month in the Army. "I joined on the 17th day of September. On the 8th day of October, I was on a ship headed to the Phillipines," he said. But in April 1942, Doyle was taken prisoner of war and forced to walk over 80 miles in the Bataan Death March. He has counted 1,218 days spent as a prisoner of war. He says if General King hadn`t surrendered them in the first place, they would have been slaughtered. Benjamin Haymon, 79, still has his discharge papers from 1945. He was drafted at 28 years old and signed up as a cook. He`s one of an even smaller group: African-American soldiers from WWII. "Some of the guys didn`t want us to use those restrooms," he said. "They had a little restroom there they let the coloreds use and then they had one of their own," he said of the time during the war when blacks and whites were still segregated. "That`s the reason I`m here, to let it be known what I`ve gone through," Haymon added. Black remembers "a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of sweat, and a lot of hard work. It wasn`t easy."