John Carroll Magazine
Summer 2008
The Class of '43
Sixty-five years ago, they graduated Carroll and marched off
to save the free world. In their own words, five members of
the class of 1943 share lives lived and lessons learned.
They’re into the latter half of their 80s now. They will convene on
campus in
June
for their 65th Reunion, a landmark gathering, where
they will talk about
their
families, toast the days behind them and
the days ahead, and remember
the
classmates they’ve lost along the way.
Nearly all of them share the bond of
having served in the military at
one of
the most dire times in human history.
As Tom Brokaw wrote in his 1998 book,
The Greatest Generation, “They
answered
the call to help save
the world from
the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever
assembled, |
instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs.
They
faced
great odds and a late start, but they did not
protest.”
John Carroll magazine asked five members of the
class
of ’43 to talk
about their lives. Leo Bedell, Donald
Coburn, Thomas Dunnigan, Mitchell
Shaker, and Bruce
Thompson are representative of all the Carroll men
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who
served their country in
World War II.
On the following
pages, we gratefully
present a glimpse into their
experiences
before, during, and after the war, as
told in their own words.
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Photo at top: Leo Bedell holds the Silver Star he was awarded for his
actions at Iwo Jima in 1945.
All photography for "The Class of '43" by Robert Müller, except for the
portrait of Thomas Dunnigan, by Paul Fetters.
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