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William W. Verba, far right, shares his story as daughter, Elaine Segarra, far left and son-in-law William Segarra, listen. – Submitted by Cornell Arline

William W. Verba sits with a box displaying some of his medals and a photo of him when he was in the Merchant Marines. – Karen Kistler

William V. Verba, sitting, left, with his family and friend, sitting right, Cornell Arline, and standing, daughter and son-in-law, Elaine and William Segarra. – Karen Kistler

William V. Verba, sitting, is pictured with his family son-in-law and daughter, William and Elaine Segarra. – Karen Kistler

A photo of William W. Verba when he was a WWII Rifle Squad Leader Sergeant. — Submitted

William W. Verba holds a photocopy of the Legion of Honor medal he received from France. – Karen Kistler

Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — World War II veterans are described as “The Greatest Generation” because of their courage, patriotism and strength in the face of adversity and while many lost their lives fighting in this war, many others, like William W. Verba, survived but will never forget it.

Verba, who was born on May 5, 1925, in New Jersey, the youngest of three boys, spent his childhood in the city of Perth Amboy. He attended school there and graduated from Perth Amboy High School and went on to Drakes Business College. 

He and his wife Eleanor had one daughter, Elaine, and she and her husband William Segarra, also a veteran, having served Vietnam, have a son, William J. Segarra Jr., and two grandsons, fraternal twins, Jacob and Nicholas Segarra, who are college students.

Verba spent years living with his daughter and son-in-law and moving with them as jobs required their moving from state to state. He now resides at the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Salisbury where he has been since June of last year. 

On his next birthday, Verba will be turning 100, and said he was the oldest person in the building.

When his son-in-law asked him how old he was right then, he replied, “99 years plus 278 days. That’s a long time, big numbers.”

At 18, Verba was already serving in the Merchant Marines, and he did as all boys that age had to do, he said he registered for the draft at the post office. After his time in the Merchant Marines, Verba served in the United States Army.

He came from a military family, he said, telling that his father fought in the Spanish-American War and met General Pershing in the Philippine Insurrection. His two older brothers served in the military, one in the United States Army and the other in the United States Navy, the Merchant Marines and the United States Army and neither saw combat, Verba said.

“I’m the only one that had to go and fight,” he said.

He joined the Merchant Marines in 1943 and served for 14 months. He then joined the U.S. Army in July 1944 serving for approximately two years. He was discharged from his time in military service in June 1946.

During his time in the military, Verba received numerous medals for his service including the Army of Occupation Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze stars, Prisoner of War Medal, the European African Eastern German Clash Medal and the Legion of Honour award presented from the French government, recognizing those who liberated France during the battle.

That medal, Verba said, “is worth more than all these. It’s the highest award from the French nation. Only 200 people got that medal from the United States.”

He said that in 2011 the award recipients were on the news. He chuckled as he said they put a spotlight on them, called out their names and told what they had done.

“It was a nice day,” he said, adding though that it was a wild day and he “felt like crawling under the chair.”

The only medal he did not receive, Segarra said, was the Purple Heart. He said there were many World War II soldiers who didn’t receive it, adding that there was a long process to get that one.

Starting as a private first class, Verba said he ended up in the Army as an acting sergeant serving as the elite rifle squad leader during combat. 

He remembered his time in basic training and the sergeant who told this group of scared young men that he would make them good soldiers.

“We were shaking,” he said.

When asked about those friendships made during his military days, Segarra said that many of Verba’s comrades during those times “got killed right away. He doesn’t know who survived. There aren’t many World War II veterans left.”

Verba remembered being blown out of a foxhole, 12 feet into the air, and being treated for brain damage in a hospital in Paris, France.

He recalled the many needles and said he “was shaking.” Verba served in France and Germany and it was while he was near the French-German border, he was captured and taken prisoner in the town of Metz, said Segarra.

Elaine said she remembered her father telling her that in order to survive the cold weather in the foxholes and not lose toes or fingers, they would put their socks under their arms to get them warm. Verba added that they also put candles under their feet so as not to have frozen feet.

As a little girl, Elaine said she remembers her dad always having headaches, telling that they hit him in the head with the butt of the gun.

“And I think they knocked his teeth out,” she said.

William Segarra showed a copy of the Western Union telegram that Verba’s family received notifying them that he was missing in action.

“Back then, if they notified you were missing in action, most likely you were dead,” he said, “and they believed he was dead.”

The battle when he was captured was in a forest area on Christmas Eve, 1944, Verba said. There was a very loud artillery barrage lasting one to two hours, and all that could be seen was the smoke, black and gray smoke, he said.

“I thought the world was coming to an end,” he said. “That’s how loud the noise was.”

Verba’s group was in the forest area fighting the Panzer division, and when the smoke cleared, there was a group of them totally surrounded by Germans, added Segarra.

Verba said the Germans had good weapons and supplies and were the “smartest people we ever fought.”

“We lost half of our company in that barrage. My stomach dropped. It was horrible,” said Verba. “It’s something you could never forget. It affected my ears,” and as he pointed to his head, he said, “I’ve got a slight indentation in my skull.” 

It was a Ranger group that came in about three weeks later and freed the prisoners, said Segarra, and Verba was taken to a battlefield hospital where they treated him.

“I give all the Army nurses credit. They worked hard,” said Verba. “They were great people. They became specialists. Smart doctors. Smart nurses. And they worked hard.”

During his stay in the hospital, he said he met some Americans from the Pentagon and he met General Patton. He said you didn’t tell him what to do, but he told you. 

“He was a great general,” he said.

Back on the battlefield and fighting once again, Verba was part of a group that liberated several cities in France. A picture of his group marching down the street of one of those cities, Saabruken, is included in the book titled, “Pictorial History of the Second World War.”

With a big smile, Segarra pointed to a spot in the far back of the group of soldiers that Verba was back there.

After the war, the military helped to rebuild Germany, he said. Verba was still in the military and was assigned to identify the bodies of American soldiers. So he served as a mortician trying to identify them.

He could have continued in this when he got out of the service, Segarra said, but he didn’t want to do that. Instead, he worked for the Department of the Army, remaining in this career for approximately 15 years as a purchasing agent, he said.

When he returned home from the war, Verba said he couldn’t believe it when he got home.

“Everything was peaceful and no noise,” he said. “It was so different. I couldn’t believe it. It was so different from the military life.”

While growing up, Verba enjoyed working outdoors and in the garden, Segarra said.

Today, he enjoys watching football, something he spent every Saturday morning doing during the season with his good friend Cornell Arline, a 10-year Navy veteran who served as a corpsman while in the service.

Elaine said that Cornell, who is one of the youngest veterans there, has “become like family.”

Verba said they watch all the games but has several favorite teams including Florida State and Texas A&M and as for the NFL teams, the Cardinal and the Bears, both which he said are losers.

And while the Super Bowl has passed, Elaine asked her dad who he thought would win it. He said he liked the Eagles, but he didn’t expect the results that would follow two days later.

Almost reaching 100 years old, Verba has seen many changes and has lots of memories. One of those he said “I never thought I would see” is putting two men on the moon.

He said there were too many major changes that have happened over the years to recall them, but Verba said the war would be one thing to never forget, and added, “I survived World War II. I’m thankful for that.”