WWII Army veteran still thinks about his soldiers on the battlefield

A local World War II veteran opens up about his time in service.

Andrew Elias joined the U.S. Army in 1941 at 23 years old.

“When I heard rumors of war I said I’m going in, I’m going to fight for this country.”

He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. He says the memories of war, even today, are still so raw.

“The first person I killed I couldn’t sleep, I cried I moaned. Sometimes when I’m thinking, was it my fault? That I led somebody into combat, and had them killed. That’s the thing that bothers me the most. “

Elias cheated death, more than once, and he received two Purple Hearts.

On this Veteran’s Day observed, Elias still loves this country just as much.

Cox Media Group