Ron J
Active member
Driving along a secondary road in the Tewksbury, Massachusetts, I drove by a cemetery, with this magnificent gravestone engraved with a P T Boat on the face. PT 191. The Veterans name is Peter Walent.
To me every gravestone has some kind of history, or if you look hard enough, it just might tell a story.
There is no doubt in my mind, Peter had two "Loves of his life", PT 191 and his wife Mildred! They were married in August, 27th day,1949. Shortly after the War. Viewing the Stone, the two were deeply in love, and no doubt meant alot to each other, for life. Peter must have served on PT 191 when he was only 19, or 20 years old during the latter part of WWII. We may never know, how they met. But it appears, they had a great marriage for many years.
It appears a lot of thought full thinking, and love went into designing the Stone. I can only assume, perhaps the two of them planned the Stone in earlier years? Some expense went into the making of this, no doubt at all. The PT Boat etching, Peter's image as a young Sailor, proud of his Service, and proud of his Boat! No doubt, an experience he never forgot! The real elegance of the planning, is the open book, resting on the Stone. The Poem is excellent. Again, I have no idea, if the Poem was "borrowed" from another publication, or if Peter and Mildred wrote it themselves. I want to believe it was written by them in my mind.
To make it easier to read, here it is:
BEYOND THE SUNSET
Should You go first and I remain to
walk the road alone
I'll live in memories garden, Dear,
with happy day's we've known,
In Spring, I'll wait for Roses Red
when faded the Lilacs Blue.
In early Fall, when brown leaves fall,
I'll catch a glimpse of You.
I'll hear your voice, I'll see you smile
thou blindly I may grope.
The memory of your helping hand
will buoy me on with hope.
Should You go first and I remain,
one thing I'll have You do,
walk slowly down that long lane,
for soon I'll follow You.
I want to know each step You take
for someday down that lonely road,
You'll hear me call your name.
Searching on some PT Boat web sites, I found PT 191 was built by ELCO Electric Boat Company in Bayonne N.J. being launched on Feb. 5th, 1943.
The 191 served during the War in the South West Pacific . This vessel was one of the first, to have torpedo launching Racks, instead of Tubes. Most
PT boats had nicknames, this one being named "BAMBI" according to Will Day's PT Boat List.
191 belonged to RON 12, with LCDR John Harllee and Lt. John J. McGlynn USNR. ( RON is short for SquadRON )
This vessel evidently returned to the United States after the War, and was sold. Most were left behind and destroyed or burned. Remember, "They were Expendable"!!
Rj
To me every gravestone has some kind of history, or if you look hard enough, it just might tell a story.
There is no doubt in my mind, Peter had two "Loves of his life", PT 191 and his wife Mildred! They were married in August, 27th day,1949. Shortly after the War. Viewing the Stone, the two were deeply in love, and no doubt meant alot to each other, for life. Peter must have served on PT 191 when he was only 19, or 20 years old during the latter part of WWII. We may never know, how they met. But it appears, they had a great marriage for many years.
It appears a lot of thought full thinking, and love went into designing the Stone. I can only assume, perhaps the two of them planned the Stone in earlier years? Some expense went into the making of this, no doubt at all. The PT Boat etching, Peter's image as a young Sailor, proud of his Service, and proud of his Boat! No doubt, an experience he never forgot! The real elegance of the planning, is the open book, resting on the Stone. The Poem is excellent. Again, I have no idea, if the Poem was "borrowed" from another publication, or if Peter and Mildred wrote it themselves. I want to believe it was written by them in my mind.
To make it easier to read, here it is:
BEYOND THE SUNSET
Should You go first and I remain to
walk the road alone
I'll live in memories garden, Dear,
with happy day's we've known,
In Spring, I'll wait for Roses Red
when faded the Lilacs Blue.
In early Fall, when brown leaves fall,
I'll catch a glimpse of You.
I'll hear your voice, I'll see you smile
thou blindly I may grope.
The memory of your helping hand
will buoy me on with hope.
Should You go first and I remain,
one thing I'll have You do,
walk slowly down that long lane,
for soon I'll follow You.
I want to know each step You take
for someday down that lonely road,
You'll hear me call your name.
Searching on some PT Boat web sites, I found PT 191 was built by ELCO Electric Boat Company in Bayonne N.J. being launched on Feb. 5th, 1943.
The 191 served during the War in the South West Pacific . This vessel was one of the first, to have torpedo launching Racks, instead of Tubes. Most
PT boats had nicknames, this one being named "BAMBI" according to Will Day's PT Boat List.
191 belonged to RON 12, with LCDR John Harllee and Lt. John J. McGlynn USNR. ( RON is short for SquadRON )
This vessel evidently returned to the United States after the War, and was sold. Most were left behind and destroyed or burned. Remember, "They were Expendable"!!
Rj
