One article is about Nesquehoning’s first casualty in the war, Joseph Malatak who died on December 7 at Pearl Harbor. The article describes the burials in Hawaii. A tight-lipped group of six-foot marines in olive drab uniforms raise their rifles and fire three volleys over the fresh earth as nightfall approaches fast. A bugle sounds taps. A black robed priest blesses the ground with holy water and a chaplain recites the committal ceremony. The bodies were taken to Nuuanu cemetery overlooking the palm-fringed sea from which the treacherous attack was launched. “I was in the thickest of the attack,” said the chaplain. “Our Americans would glow if they could have seen how our boys died. It was glorious. Nay a whimper! They manned their guns until the decks buckled with the heat. Ah, if every American had seen how quietly, yet quietly, men suffered, how gallantly they died, how courageously they thought about the next man they would glory.” 
     There’s a story about Sgt. John Dunstan strolling through a cemetery in Guadalcanal, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and finding the grave of one of his hometown buddies. He removed his helmet and knelt in prayer. He went to the grave often and made sure it was kept clear of debris. He would put jungle flowers on it. He said, “I guess it’s about the least I can do for George.”