Reflections from life about various subjects of interest: God, the Bible, faith, family, freedom, wisdom, guidance, decisions, friends, aging, youth, memories, books, music, marriage, love, history, work, play, travel, photography, Reformed faith, Baptist theology, small town life, Sebring, and various things that come to mind. With my eclectic interests and desire to share this will be a platform to communicate some of my thoughts and writings.
Terrie and Eli canoeing down Juniper Run - July 4, 1982
Here I was at Juniper Springs August 10, 1985.
When Eli was a little boy we began tent camping to take economy vacations that fit our budget. Frequently we went to Florida Springs. They are all connected to the underground Florida Aquifer, which is the largest aquifer system in the Southeastern United States, covering over 100,000 square miles through parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and all of Florida. Multiple layers of porous rock underground, limestone in our case, is what gives Florida 90% of our drinking water. Billions of gallons of fresh water are there. Over 1,000 artesian springs pour out fresh water on the surface.
Recently Terrie and I had a get away and went to some of the Florida Springs. We began at Silver Springs. I used to go to summer church camp nearby when I was a boy. The glass bottom boats have been going since the 1870's and originally began as a tourist spot in 1852. One captain just retired after 54 years, and sat in a small display greeting folks and answering questions. It is operated as a State Park, so the entry fee is only $2 per person and an additional fee for the glass bottom boat tours. We saw one manatee on our tour. This spring produces 550,000,000 gallons per day from 30 springs, which is claimed to be the largest flow in the world.
Ross Allen Reptile Institute is now shut down. That used to be quite amazing.
Silver Springs is where they used to film the TV series, Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges. Also way back the early Tarzan movies were filmed there, and even Jackie Gleason filmed a movie there later on, and a James Bond movie, Moonraker, had a scene filmed there, too. Creature of the Black Lagoon was also filmed there, and scenes from Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean and Distant Drums with Gary Cooper. It originally opened in 1878 with glass bottom boat tours. The park covers 4,000 acres today.
Across Highway 40 used to be Six Gun Territory in the 1960’s when we moved to Florida. Now it’s been preempted by Disney, but it was pretty cool to see gunfighters simulate the old western style duels daily and ride the old steam locomotive train. All that remains now is a shopping Plaza called Six Gun Plaza. The old locomotive is now on the Kirby ranch in Williston where they periodically do a reenactment and have some of the western style shootouts.
Ed, Willi, Tom Sager at Six Gun Territory, May 1965
Next on our agenda was Juniper Springs. It had not changed much over the years.
It still produces 13,000,000 gallons per day with Fern Garden Spring. They still operate kayak and canoe rentals to paddle down the river like we did years ago. Being in the Ocala National Forest it cost $12.50 per person to go here, although the Senior passes help cut that in half. It is operated by a private concession.
We happened to see a lady walk by with some other folks dressed in the same colors we were wearing! She turned out to be the author of ‘I Swam With Alligators’, Dr. Diana K. Kanoy. She’s very outgoing and enjoyed a brief visit. She lives in Ft. McCoy nearby. We had our photo taken - she had exchange students with her from Mongolia and a few other exotic places. Quite an experience for high school girls.
Our next stop (Tuesday, November 21) was Salt Springs. This has brackish water and is still in the Ocala National Forest. Blue crabs can be seen down in the spring! It is a second magnitude spring and produces 52,000,000 gallons per day. It used to be used medicinally for bathing many years ago.
We have good memories of church campouts in recent years here and at Silver Glen Springs nearby. Another generation of our family is enjoying the Florida Springs.
October 2018 with Highlands Grace Reformed Church, Sebring.
Finally on Wednesday, November 22, we went to one more, Rainbow Springs in Dunellon. This is another old Florida tourist attraction begun in 1937 and with the modern interstate highway system and Disney it just could not keep going. They used to have animals on display and a botanical garden, too. This one is operated by the State of Florida. It is a first magnitude spring and produces 493,000,000 gallons per day.
We hiked the ‘Yellow Trail’ for about 2.5-3.0 miles through the big scrub. There was what we thought was a sinkhole along it. Turned out it was the remains of a phosphate mining operation from the 1880’s, which was why a developer took it over and it became a tourist attraction instead of a mine. At one time they competed with Silver Springs by having submarine tours and a monorail ride! The waterfalls are still there, and walkways through the gardens along the river.
This was a refreshing getaway and prepared us for a nice visit with Terrie’s sister, Sandra Jayne, and her husband, Chuck Miller in Lecanto. We had a visit with our friends Scott and Carol Kemper who came over after dinner.
The next day we enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving with some of Terrie’s Brooksville relatives at a beach house at Hernando Beach owned by Kyle and Heather Tuttle. What a feast we had! With around 40 attending it was a fun way to wind up our little trip in a very beautiful place with great weather.
As always, it is good to be back home. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and refreshment of our Florida Springs. Your creation is truly amazing. And I did not even mention Weeki Wachee Springs with the mermaid show! That’s another story I guess. There are so many of them. For us fair-skinned folks who don’t go to the beaches, the Florida Springs are a great alternative. Very refreshing.
Ron and Kathleen brought some horses to our grandson Isaac’s birthday party October 26, 2019
Many boys grow up wanting to become cowboys. We played games and pretended to ride our horses out on the range. When our family moved to Sebring, Florida from Philadelphia in 1963 we had never met a real cowboy. One of my brothers came home one day very excited to tell our parents that we lived on the same street as a cowboy! They were pretty skeptical but discovered we really did! Few people realize that Florida has the longest history of cattle ranching in the United States, dating back to the days of the Spanish explorers who brought them along with horses. Ponce de Leon came in 1521 and Moldanado in 1540 with Andalusian cattle that escaped and survived in the wild.
Our church has had many people over the years. Around 2018 we had the blessing of Ron and Kathleen Goddard joining us in worship. Ron was a real cattleman. He was a blessing to us and we were also privileged to have him welcome us to one of their annual brandings. Ron managed the 31,000 acre Blue Head Ranch in Venus, Florida in the south of Highlands County. They raise what is as close as possible to the original ‘cracker’ cattle, an exclusively grass fed beef operation utilizing a planned grazing pattern that mimics the migratory activity of wild ungulates. Blue Head Ranch never uses herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers or grain-based supplemental feeds, so it’s as organic as it gets. Ron was deeply impressed by the Allan Savory’s holistic management (HM) approach that seeks to rebuild soil and mimic the movement of animals in a natural environment. Ron worked for many years with various ranches out west before coming to Central Florida. He was highly respected in his field.
Not only was it our privilege to worship together and visit, but when Ron went to heaven it was my privilege to be asked to preach his memorial message. What a blessing to be a small part of the amazing work of God’s grace in Ron Goddard’s life. The obituary below is followed by my notes from his service.
Ronald L. Goddard, 69, went home to be with the Lord Jesus Christ on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at his home near Lake Placid, surrounded by his loving family. Ron was born September 16, 1951 in Morland, Kansas, to Janice (Born) and William Goddard. He left Kansas at 16 years old and for the next 50+ years cowboyed and ranched in 19 different states. He settled the longest in Montana, where he and Kathleen raised their three children. Ron had been a resident of Lake Placid since 2015, when he, his wife, and his sons moved here from Montana to manage the Bluehead Ranch. He was a rancher, land manager, horseman, and very fine cowboy, but he was before all of these a servant of the Lord Jesus, Who saved him to the praise of His glorious grace in 1984. He and Kathleen attended Highlands Grace Reformed Church while they lived in Florida. Ron was a voracious reader, a great writer of letters, and a treasure trove of historical and political knowledge. He was cracklingly witty, unendingly hospitable, and singularly kind. His children and later his grandchildren spent many delighted hours riding, roping, fishing, camping, hunting and working with him—he was never too busy to include them in whatever he was doing. Ron was preceded in death by his parents and older brother Rick Goddard. He is survived by the love of his life of 36 years, Kathleen; daughter Jolee Holmquist (Kelly); sons Jason (Tiffany) and Jacob (Loni); nine grandchildren, a granddaughter-in-law, and a great grandbaby on the way; two sisters Becky Ellis and Sonya Cap; sisters, brothers, and mother-in-law; aunts; uncles; cousins; nieces; nephews; and countless friends and neighbors, all of whom he treated as graciously as his own family, which was graciously indeed. “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” Psalm 16:5-6 A gathering for family and friends to celebrate Ron’s life will be held Thursday May 27th at 1 pm at First Presbyterian Church Lake Placid.
Branding day, November 2018
February 2019 with pastor Jim Handyside of Glasgow, Scotland at Highlands Grace Reformed Church in Sebring.
Here are my notes from the memorial service at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Placid, FL.
RON GODDARD
To heaven May 20, 2021
[Welcome and pray]
Job 1:21 Our purpose today is to bless God in true, spiritual worship and to honor the memory of Ron Goddard. We begin by singing a hymn of praise.
The Bible says God honors those who honor him. 1 Samuel 2:30 Ron was a God honoring man of faith. He knew God and walked in His ways.
Ron was my brother in Christ, a friend in Jesus who spent his last years worshiping God with us at Highlands Grace Reformed Church in Sebring. He had a keen desire to know God and was a serious student of the Word of God, a genuine man of faith and prayer, a disciple of Jesus Christ who served the Lord faithfully. He loved God because he was saved by his grace from sin and darkness. Ron had spiritual joy in Jesus. He smiled with his whole face.
Ron was born and raised in Kansas. God graciously gave him a family to grow up in that exposed him to the Word of God. As a young person Ron knew Scripture but turned away to follow his own sinful ways. Like a sheep that wanders off on its own like the rest of us he was only allowed to stray so long before the Lord intervened in his grace. Before their wedding in January 1985 the Lord saved Ron and Kathleen by his amazing grace. In 1988 they were baptized publicly confessing their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
Ron and Kathleen faced and fought his cancer together. We all joined in prayer and trusted God with his life as they diligently pursued a cure. Ron’s desire was to glorify Jesus Christ. God saw fit to call him home to himself so that where Jesus is, there he will be, exactly as our Lord Jesus prayed in the Upper Room. Ron’s faith was firm. As Job’s trials intensified he clung to gospel hope. He said, ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ He knew that Jesus’ death was his only hope of being right with God and entering heaven. As D. L. Moody said, ‘Someday you will read or hear that D. L. Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all; out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal – a body that death cannot touch; that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.’
This year Ron and Kathleen joined Highlands Grace Reformed Church. In signing the membership application they stated, ‘I have been saved from my sins by the grace of God alone through faith alone in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I haven’t deserved my salvation in any way- it is entirely by God’s grace in Christ.’
[Psalm 23:6 God’s goodness and mercy to Ron]
Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Signature mustache, hat, suspenders, smile, firm handshake.
WIFE, FAMILY & FRIENDS
God blessed Ron with the love of his life Kathleen and with their family – committed in covenant (married Jan. 25, 1985); with Jesus Christ as head of their home. Loves children – grandchildren took to him. We’ll never forget our grandson Isaac’s birthday when they brought horses to give the kids rides. The statement was made about Ron’s worn out body, ‘this body served us (our family) well.’ Ron poured out his love on his family and led them in the way of the Lord. Their home is filled with God’s love. They were able to tell him and show him how much they loved him before he died and went to heaven. The last visit we had with Ron he sat on the hard wooden pew in their living room and I told him and Kathleen, ‘we love you guys’. God’s children are known by our love.
The family told me he had no favorite verse, color, or hymn (Blessed Assurance). But he and Kathleen had a favorite letter of the alphabet – ‘J’. All their children have J names. And their Savior’s name is Jesus Christ.
Authentic
Adventurous
Humble and wise – James 3:17
Respected and respectful; mentor
Friendly, kind, hospitable and generous; never forget being at the branding in 2018.
Enjoyed cowboy poetry (‘Purt Near Perkins’); music – Charlie Daniels, Job 19:25-26.
VOCATION – CATTLE RANCHING
Loved the outdoors and was blessed to work his entire career outside; cattleman; rodeo. Told us about Beartooth Highway in Wyoming and MT when we traveled west. The beauty and majesty of God’s creation was very special to him.
Respects the earth without worshiping it; believed God created things wisely and we ought to work with His creation, not against it to keep it as good stewards. Ps. 19
Hard working and skillful – Prov.27:23 ‘Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.’ Knew how to manage a cattle ranch.
Reliable
Inquisitive, intelligent; enjoyed reading books, teachable; quiet; wrote and kept a journal.
Conservative – the old ways, not moving the ancient landmarks; preserving what is valuable.
Innovative – enjoyed challenges and did things that are unconventional (Holistic Management – Allan Savory grazing method).
SPIRITUAL
Leader and follower – disciple of Jesus.
Knew God his Redeemer – Job 19:25-27; heart for Jesus Christ (weekly Bible study) – Justified – Romans 3:21-26; 4:20-25 Repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Church member (paper) – desires to know God in sovereign grace; truth seeker; disciple; learning he was not as strong as he thought he was; favorite hymn, Blessed Assurance.
Loves the Bible and the Lord Jesus. Unashamed of the Gospel – Romans 1:16-18
Lived by faith in Jesus Christ – Job 13:15.
Worshiped God in Spirit and truth; THANKFUL, knowing every good gift came from God.
Ron cared about people and wanted others to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Servant of God who used what he was and had to serve Jesus as a faithful steward. Loved much because he was forgiven much. A needy sinner saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.
Good soldier of Christ who fought the good fight of faith - 2 Timothy 2:1-3; 4:7-8.
God is telling us, ‘Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.’ Jn. 1:29
Looking to Jesus Christ by faith is the only remedy for your sin, your only hope of eternal life – John 3:14-17. Salvation is entirely by the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking by faith to his finished work on the cross is our only hope. There is heaven to gain and hell to escape. Look to Jesus’ death on the cross as your only hope of acceptance with God. Turn from your sin and seek His mercy and forgiveness while you can. God welcomes all who come to him. Preparing to face the judgment can only be done by abandoning all confidence in your works or performance and relying only on God’s provision of grace in Christ. By his death on the cross he paid the penalty for the sins of all who believe. Look to him and be saved. Commit your life to him. The old evangelist Rolfe Barnard told sinners, ‘Stack arms’, surrender yourself to God now. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.
Ron’s legacy lives on. He is more alive now than ever before in eternal glory through God’s wonderful grace in Jesus Christ. His life points us to Christ. We join in giving God all the glory for him and the hope we have in Jesus Christ by grace. Ron inherited the infinite riches secured by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. The lines have fallen for him in pleasant places, even in heavenly splendor and eternal glory with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please join in singing one more hymn.
This concludes the service today.
The family invites all who want to come to join them at the Blue Head Ranch afterward.
The Blue Head stretches across 31,300 acres of interior peninsular Florida, and Grasslands has been at the helm since November of 2014. The landscape sports a wild mosaic of natural wetlands and marshes, richly diverse, native palmetto prairies, longleaf and slash pine forest, cabbage palm and live oak hammocks, and subtropical planted pastures dominated by bahia and hermarthria grass. Wily and diminutive Florida whitetails, feral hogs, Osceola turkeys, alligators, and gopher tortoises are abundant throughout, in addition to a vast array of other reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish. The Blue Head supports a fascinating herd of over 7,000 corriente, cracker, and longhorn cattle—descendants of the original Spanish cattle that arrived on Florida’s shores over 500 years ago. These cattle can make a living, with no outside help or supplement, in the humid, hot, buggy, swampy, snake-ridden, mosquito-laden, lightning-stricken, and just plain harsh environment of southern Florida.
David Smith and Eli Sager graduated from home education 1993. Eli got his G.E.D.
As a home education father and grandfather I have been blessed to experience the fruit of God’s goodness in our family reaching into the lives of our two sons and now the next generation. My wife Terrie and I are both public high school graduates from Sebring High School. We became Christians in 1974 and were soon aware of the lack of biblical foundation provided by the public education system.
Our first son, Eli, was originally in a private Christian School until he was in sixth grade. Terrie did volunteer work at Sebring Christian School when Eli was a student there. After much prayer and discussion Terrie and I decided to educate him at home. We got involved in a local home education support group which was helpful. Curriculum choices were somewhat limited then but there were some available that worked for us. After seventeen years with no television at home we eventually used a tiny black and white one with the A Beka video curriculum. We experimented with some others and compared notes with other families.
Coming home daily from work for lunch helped alleviate some periodic stress. As school principle I could lighten the atmosphere sometimes by having a 'pep rally', and making up an impromptu school song to cheer Terrie and Eli on. Prayer also was part of our regular school day.
Having mechanical aptitude he began part time work in a small engine repair shop for Roy Haley by the time he was about fifteen and later did part time work for Mike Carr doing tree trimming. Extra-curricular activity involved membership in a 4-H chapter and our local church (both sons). After completing his high school curriculum he passed the G.E.D. examination in 1992 and graduation was celebrated with his best friend David Smith who was also home educated. Eli went on to work in a metal fabrication and welding business for Larry Pepper and put himself through vocational school and was certified in welding and machining. He also worked maintaining equipment on a large commercial sod farm in Lake Placid, Greenbrier. He and Margaret now own their own business, CWS Fabrication and Hydraulics. https://cws-fabrication-and-hydraulics-inc.business.site/
She was also home educated and has her Masters Degree in Education. They have four children, aged eleven to seventeen and Margaret is educating them at home. The oldest is attending college and preparing to work toward a degree in engineering. The three younger children are musically talented and perform chamber music locally and play with the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony.
Our second son Roy is fourteen years younger! That meant that my wife, Terrie, basically had non-stop home educating to do from 1986 until Roy graduated with his G.E.D. in 2008! Prior to that she volunteered at the Christian school for six years and is now a substitute teacher in the public school system! That makes 36 years! She also was involved as a 4-H leader for years and extremely active in our local church. She has been through many tests and trials, and God has supported and enabled. We have made a serious, long-term commitment to home education as you can tell. Roy is now married to Deanna, and works with his brother doing metal fabrication and hydraulics. Roy also has obvious mechanical abilities and continues various other vocational projects. He began welding around age 14, and later worked for a local company making aluminum castings for agricultural irrigation system couplings at Webster Manufacturing, and was a foreman for a local upscale specialty vegetable farm owned by a German Michelin rated chef that flew him in summers to Long Island, NY to run their farm there, Satur Farms. Roy and Deanna have two children, aged one and three. Deanna is just starting to educate Abigail part time since she was asking to begin.
Roy graduated with his G.E.D. 2008
To see the fruit of our decision and commitment is very gratifying and we give all the praise and glory to God. Our local school board has been very cooperative and worked well with us. We have been blessed as a family with cohesion, stability, and grace. It is such a joy to see a new generation of young people with wholesome interests applying themselves to grow in character and develop skills, acquire knowledge, and cultivate talents that will prove a blessing in their lives. God has faithfully directed our steps as we committed our ways to him years ago. Our sons have mastered many life skills and acquired the biblical educational foundation necessary to succeed in life. God molded and fashioned their characters into men of God. With godly wives they continue a blessing begun years ago. No (grand) parents could ask for any more.
William H. Sager, Jr. - Private U.S. Army Infantry 1944-46 WW2
Dad with his WW2 Veteran hat, close friend Inge Ruff, great grandson Edward Sager, and daughter in law Terrie Sager at Brasstown Bald, GA. May 2021 (our last visit)
Dad’s Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman Badge, and others from his service in the U.S. Army, 5th Infantry Division - Red Diamond. Great-grandson Luke Bateman, formerly USMC, now serving in USCG, has all these medals now and was going to display them in a shadow box. Willi has the memorial flag. We were very grateful to our local VFW Honor Guard for their part in honoring him at our memorial service with a 21 gun salute and nice tribute!
As we remember our military veterans on November 11, I have been thinking about our father. Bill Sager enlisted as an eighteen year old at the end of WW2 in 1944. His account of his experience in basic training is quite a unique story. This is from his 380 page typewritten autobiography he gave us in 2001 when he was 75 years old.
l'm the guy who was so happy to quit school and go in the service so I wouldn't have to study anymore. I just hated to study. So what happened when I was in the service? Well, in basic training some of it just seemed so easy - as I said I was in great physical shape so that part was easy. We had a drill sergeant who for some reason, that I'm sure the Lord knows, took an immediate dislike to me - perhaps because I was a Yankee and physically had no problem in doing anything they wanted us to do (I think this really go to him) - I’ll never know. He was about 5' 3 or 4" tall and must have weighed about 135 lbs. All of his uniforms were tailored to him which meant all of his shirts fit him like a glove. He had all the seams where you would press your shirts (three stripes down the back) sewn into his shirts. Seemed he had quite an ego too and we were the ones who were going to feed it. Don't get me wrong about what I'm going to say next - but this little drill sergeant was from the hills of Georgia - most of my dealing with anyone from Georgia was they were “hill billies” - had very little education and didn’t do much work.. (This was 50 years ago and we had gone through a depression and now were in the 2nd world war) I'm certain he too quit school, just like I had - but he probably never made it into the 6th grade. Anyway he took an immediate dislike to me and seemed to always be picking on me. One time I wasn't paying attention in one of the lectures and we were sitting outside in the hot Florida sun and I was sort of nodding off - he came up behind me (and I didn’t see him) and I did have my helmet liner on - he hit me over the head with his ever present swagger stick (this was like a conductors baton but about ½ inch in diameter and about two feel long). It made such a resounding sound that I don't think I heard anything for about three days after his blow on me helmet liner. A couple of days after that episode he was teaching us map reading and all of a sudden it dawned on me that here was this little guy who had been in the Army for about 12 years, seen combat, been wounded (badly) and was brought back from overseas so he could teach us how to stay alive when we were in combat. Here he was actually trying to help me stay alive when I went overseas. Boy was this a revelation. This wonderful little guy was helping us all to gain some knowledge so we could stay alive a little longer. What a change in attitude I had - this was now a wonderful little guy and how I studied everything that he or anyone presented to us. I even told some of the others that the little sergeant was really helping us and they'd better pay attention. I know he did a good job - I did get through my overseas experience thanks to God and a lot of other people and that wonderful little sergeant from the hills of Georgia. He still managed to pick on me when he had the chance but it didn't bother me - I loved him. The Lord just opened my eyes and I just loved him. If there had been a book about this Wonderful Sergeant I would have studied it from cover to cover.
Now Listen - about my little Sergeant, here was someone who had almost died so he could pass on what he knew and help me live. Does this sound familiar? Here was someone who had almost died so that I could live? Ever hear of someone else who not ALMOST died but who actually did die so you could live and have eternal life? Sure you have - I want to know as much as I can about that man. We all want to know as much about what He wants for us - How do we find out ? IT IS IN THE BOOK - the Bible - the Book that shows us just what He did and what He wants us to do - READ IT AND PRAYFULLY STUDY IT - HE'LL SHOW YOU.
Some things in basic training are just unbelievable. We had M1 30 caliber rifle issued to us and we’d have them all during training. We were told to treat them VERY well and make certain that you called it your “rifle” and not a gun. The first time a recruit called his rifle a gun the sergeant got all bent out of shape and shouted in the recruits face and told him to report to him when we were dismissed. At the end of the day when we were dismissed the recruit was seen standing at attention by the Command Office with his rifle next to him and he was would first point with his finger to his rifle and say in a very loud voice, “This is my rifle” then he would point to his crotch and say, “And this is my gun”, then back to his rifle and said, “This is for killing”, then pointing to his crotch again and saying, “And this is for fun”. He went on and on like this for over an hour before he was dismissed. We all got the message.
One recruit dropped his rifle and he was forced to put it in his cot and put it under the covers while he had to sleep under the cot on the floor. This too was a real learning experience for us all and we knew we were to take exceptionally loving care of our rifles.
In basic training I always went to church although I didn't like the idea of marching in formation to go there. One more thing to get used to and after the first Sunday in Camp Blanding I learned if I didn't fall out in formation to go to church I could walk at my own pace and get there about the time the service started.
This was my very first Christmas eve and Christmas away from my family and I didn't know what to do so I took a bus into Stark, Florida, on Christmas Eve. I walked to a part of town where there were houses and families and I slowly walked past houses and I could look in and see families sitting around their Christmas tree. Perhaps I was a little homesick but some how it gave me great joy to see families, that I didn’t know, getting ready to enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth - seemed like viewing a movie only I was the one taking the pictures.
1945 after serving overseas in combat in the European Theater. He was home on furlough. He has the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Paratrooper Wings are for the Glider Corps. He was assigned to the Motor pool for that elite airborne unit at Fort Campbell, KY at 5th Div. headquarters, then called Camp Campbell.
Found out from our interpreters the Germans would see our division patches (a red diamond) and call us by a nick name I got to like “Patton’s Red Devils”.
The 5th Division had served in the XII and XX Corps, Third Army from August 3, 1944 to the end of hostilities, May 7, 1945. General George S. Patton, Commander of the Third Army, had this to say, in part, in a letter dated November 17, 1945:
"Nothing I can say can add to the glory which you have achieved. Throughout the whole advance across France you spearheaded the attack of your Corps. You crossed so many rivers that I am persuaded many of you have webfeet and I know that all of you have dauntless spirit. To my mind history does not record incidents of greater valor than your crossing of the Sauer and Rhine."
Red Diamond patch of the 5th Division on his right shoulder. With Barbara Baxter.
Another story about his service in the U.S. Army concerned an incident in Scotland on a train in Glasgow on his way to the war.
Landing in Scotland and Moving Beyond
On our last day aboard the troop ship before getting on solid land again was a nice, calm day and I was on deck as we pulled into Glasgow, Scotland. What a beautiful sight. I had only seen pictures of the area but to actually see it in person was wonderful, particularly after being out to sea for six or seven days. Seeing the vegetation coming right down to the water, oh, it was just beautiful. The Gulf stream or something caused the vegetation to look so luscious.
We docked and took our duffel bags and knapsacks and were put on trains headed to ... ? No one knew. The Army always did a good job of keeping us in the dark or perhaps they didn’t know where we were headed either. We got on the train in Glasgow and I happened to be sitting by the window and since there were a couple of people standing outside at the train station and even though it was cold, I decided to open the window. Almost immediately I made eye contact with an old Scottish man wearing a big black overcoat and an old cap and he shuffled over to me and reached up with his old weather beaten hand and I reached mine out to him. We shook hands or really he just held my hand in his for quite a while looking right at me and studying my face and then he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and said in a very firm voice in his very Scottish brogue, "Good luck to you, Yank! - God bless ya!" Then he let go of my hand as the train started moving. I was almost crying. I have always wondered how many young soldiers he held hands and encouraged them as they went off to war. It was rather obvious to me this old man was perhaps directly involved in the first world war or that he had sons and grandsons that were involved in this war. I do hope the good Lord will let me see that man again - seems any time I want I can, after all these years, still see him and hear his firm old Scottish brogue give me courage to do a job I really didn't want to do but I knew someone needed to do it.
Several of the books published by this society were in Dad’s library that I now have. He attended their reunions later in life and displayed the red diamond decal on his car.
Our father blessed us by writing his 381 page autobiography and giving us each a copy back in 2001 when he was 75 years old. What a treasure we have of all the old family stories and his life including some stories we never heard before! Here is an excerpt about a joke his grandfather Sanford Sager pulled on him when he was a boy.
Bill Sager in front of Sanford Sager family home 1397 New Scotland Rd, Slingerlands, NY. age 8
Pop seemed to always have a twinkle in his eyes and I’m sure the following just shows how he would go to great lengths to “set you up” for a joke of some kind. One beautiful day Pop asked me if I’d like to take the bus into Albany with him and we’d visit with some of the farmers he knew at the farmers market. I jumped at the idea and he put on his good suit, tie and I dressed better than if we were going in the field to work. We went on the bus (stopped right in front of his house on New Scotland Ave.) to Albany and the farmers market. Pop and I talked and talked to lots of the men there then he asked me if I’d like to have some lunch. That sounded good to me and after I agreed to what he he’d asked he said that he had an idea, “How would you like to take a steak out in the country and we’d cook it over an open fire?” Don’t think I had ever done that before and he made it sound like such fun. We purchased a steak and went over and got on a bus headed to I didn’t know where. We would look out of the window and he would ask if this looked like a good place to get off and go in the woods - if I said yes he would say that we should go on a little further. We finally got off the bus and started walking near some woods. “I’ve a great idea, why don’t we go up to some house and as them to cook the steak for us because it would be so much faster and we both were getting hungry by now.” What a salesman he was. He talked me into being the one who would go up to the house and ask the person if they would cook a steak for me and my grandfather. Then it was a matter of which house to go up to. We finally found one that was just the right one and we stood there and I knocked at the door and a nice little old lady came to the door and I started my spiel, in the meantime my grandfather had disappeared around the corner of the house, and when I finished the little lady said that she would be very glad to cook it for us but where was my grandfather? About that time he came around from the side of the house and the little old lady reached out and gave me a great big hug. Turned out this was Pop’s sister Alice and I’m sure she knew we were coming for lunch but he surly had set me up for a wonderful experience. We had our steak and I played her pump organ most of my stay there until guess I drove them both crazy with my playing and was asked to stop.
