By Cathy Spaulding
As people marked Veterans Day at Fort Gibson National Cemetery last week, three brothers honored two brothers who are buried there.
Henry Dye of Fort Gibson said he and his brothers, Robert of Fort Gibson and Eugene of Muskogee, attend ceremonies at the cemetery every Veterans Day and every Memorial Day.
“This is something we do each year,” he said.
He said two brothers, veterans of different wars are buried at the cemetery.
John Dye, the oldest brother, served in World War II and died at the age of 87. Another brother, Billy Dye, served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was killed in a car accident at the age of 59, Henry Dye said.
Henry Dye, 75, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, but did not see any action.
“My unit went to Korea, but 20 of us did not go,” he said. “We did special duties stateside.”
Though he was drafted into the service, Dye said he was honored to serve.
“I served because I thought it was my duty to serve,” he said.
After serving in the Army for two years, the Fort Gibson native went to what is now Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee. He became an engineering draftsman.
Robert Dye, 85, joined the Army March 14, 1943, and was sent to the Pacific.
“During World War II, it was the honorable thing to serve your country,” he said. “I was in the Americal Division, the only un-numbered Division. I served at North Solomons and Bouganville, I was in the invasion of Leyte, Philipines, and Cebu. We went by ship to Japan in 1945. We observed (from a distance) as General MacArthur signed the peace treaty with Japan. I was discharged in Jan. 1946.”
After the war, Robert Dye moved to California in 1947 and worked as a retail clerk and manager of grocery stores. After raising four sons and a daughter, Dye and his wife moved back to Fort Gibson.
Eugene Dye served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946.
“We were stationed around New Guinea and we starved out the Japanese,” he said. “We flew over and bombed their gardens.”
After the war, Eugene Dye worked for the federal government, managing federal buildings in several cities, including Muskogee, McAlester and Hugo.
Reach Cathy Spauldng at 684-2928 or cspaulding @muskogeephoenix.com.
