If These Walls Could Talk

A Soldier's Letter in 1944

To Commemorate Armed Forces Day, May 16 and Memorial Day, May 25th

by Agnes-Betty Trimpert

The newspapers, movie-tone news, radio, and “Life” magazine were full of stories of the CBI (China-Burma-India) Theater of Operations in Southeast Asia and the building of the Ledo aka Lido or Leado Road in 1944. Two years before, the Japanese had cut off land access to China by closing the Burma Road, which literally cut it off from the rest of the world. China was allies with the US and General Joseph W. “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell envisioned a supply road connecting Ledo, India with the closed Burma Road. American, British and Chinese military and civilians endured monsoon rains, mudslides, steaming heat, malaria, typhoid, snakes and wild animals to cover a distance of 1079 miles to build “the greatest engineering project ever undertaken in time of war”. With shoddy equipment, over terrain traveled by Marco Polo and Ghengis Khan centuries before, they carved a new road through the jungle, rice paddies, and the Himalaya Mountains.

Our young soldier kept regular mail contact with his family and they knew, by his address, that he was assigned to the 69th General Hospital unit. News reports indicated that the 69th was in India but letters were censored and information as to location or activities blackened or cut out. Several weeks went by in the summer of 1944 without hearing from him. Then a letter arrived with a strange message: “Speaking of odd things, I had a dream the other night that I and a crowd of New Fairfield folk were singing the hymn “”LED On oh King Eternal”, my favorite, on the road leading down Bear Mountain Road, past Grandmother Benedict’s house*, down the hill to Woodcreek Road, past Charlie Carlson’s** over to the Center.” He concluded his letter with, “Its funny how things like that bring you back home for the moment.”

Of course, he was telling his anxious family that he was on the Ledo Road. They later found out he drove an ambulance for 13 days on the unfinished road as they established portable medical facilities along the way.

The lyrics to the hymn, “Lead On O King Eternal” was written by Ernest Shurtleff for his graduation class at Andover theological Seminary in 1888. It was put to music previously written by Henry T. Smart. Little did they know their composition would inspire a clue to ease a homesick soldier and a worried family.

*Benedict family lived at 12 Bear Mountain Road
**Carlson family lived at 13 Woodcreek Road

Information from The Danbury News Times August/September 1944; “Story of the Ledo Lifeline” Office of Public Relations, USF in IBT, Inform.& Edu. Div. Indian Press Ltd.,Calcutta; and personal family papers.

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