MAJ Mark Nunn, U.S. Army (1988-2010)

My father, 1st Lieutenant Omar Nunn, flew the C-47 Transport Plane in the Pacific off Saipan during WWII. On Oct 12, 1944, he landed on Peleliu while the battle still raged and was confronted by a platoon of ragged Marines. Although they were filthy, dirty, skinny from starvation and dehydration, with clothes torn to tatters, they had an air of excitement and anticipation about them.

The Lieutenant asked what dad had on the plane, to which he answered: Food, water, clothes, blankets, and ammunition! The Lieutenant asked if he had any mail on board. Dad told him he did not and was surprised to see the entire group of Marines turn and shuffle away in despair. Dad asked what that was all about and was told they were hoping for some mail because they hadn’t received any for months. Every time the mail arrived on an island, they had already moved to another one. Dad was heartbroken for these young men. When he was preparing for his next flight out of Saipan on Oct 14, he went to the mail room to ask if they had any mail for the Marines on Peleliu. The mail clerk directed Dad to the back corner of the warehouse. Dad was shocked to find large mail bags stacked from floor to ceiling in that corner. He immediately grabbed a couple of the mail clerks and told them to load two bags onto his plane. When they protested because it wasn’t on his manifest, dad jumped on them and told them I didn’t ask you if it was on my manifest; I told you to load two bags on my plane. Now get to it! They each grabbed a mail bag and headed to Dad’s plane. When the other pilots saw what was going on, they immediately jumped up and told them to load a couple of bags onto their planes, too. When Dad landed on Peleliu later that day, he opened the cargo door to another platoon of ragged Marines. He picked up the mail bags and tossed them out to the men. Their reaction was immediate and intense. They began yelling, and cheering, and jumping up and down in excitement. They couldn’t have been more ecstatic if they had just won the World Series. Whenever dad told this story, he always pointed out that men in combat do not follow the normal pattern of Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs with shelter, food, water, safety, etc. being the first needs followed by love and belonging once they were met. Instead, what these men, who didn’t even expect to be alive in the next ten minutes, wanted was to hear from their loved ones back home. This is one story from the war Dad told frequently over the years. He was so moved by this experience for the rest of his life that he never told it with a dry eye.

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