Cooperative Living September 2020 - 11

WarStories | by Preston Knight, Contributing Writer
Supreme
Signal Caller
World War II veteran earned
two purple hearts
S
urvival is in the routine for
decorated veteran Sgt. Donald
Keller.
As a young man in Strasburg, Va.,
repetition meant passing time after
school at the local radio repair shop,
where he recalls the original owner
sharing books and knowledge on
the craft.
That sparked a
career of service for
Keller both on the
battlefield, serving
overseas for 18
months as a radio
operator for combat
engineers during
World War II, and
in the workplace, retiring after 21 years
in the communications field for the
federal government.
His interest today remains in radio
transmission, as the just-turned 98-yearold
still has all his equipment at home,
though hearing issues prevent him
from making much use of it. Instead,
he consistently passes his time by
gathering with a small group of buddies
for morning coffee and enjoying the
company of his caretaker, Carole
Synowietz, several days a week.
" I couldn't get anybody better, " says
Keller, a member of Shenandoah Valley
Electric Cooperative. " There's no way. "
You can bet the comforts of a routine
also paid off for him when at war, where
his efforts for the U.S. Army led to a pair
of Purple Hearts and the French Legion
of Honor from the French Embassy.
" A lot of people stop me and ask
about it, " Keller says of his time
overseas. " I could tell a whole lot of
stories. I could go on for hours. "
A LIFE FULL OF SURPRISES
Keller was drafted into the U.S. Army
in 1943 and enlisted for three years,
co-opliving.com
Hundreds of people, including former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, gathered in Washington, D.C.,
in the spring of 2019 to see World War II veteran Sgt. Donald Keller and four others receive
the French Legion of Honor. Keller, of Strasburg, Va., also earned two Purple Hearts.
following in the footsteps of his father,
who served in the U.S. Navy during
World War I. Serving as a radio operator,
Keller entered Omaha Beach during the
invasion of Normandy, getting through
that " OK, " he says, despite the rough
seas he recalls greeting forces.
" You have to jump off a rope ladder
to get on a landing craft. Some guys
broke their legs. When the sea comes
up as high as it would get, that's when
you jump, " Keller says.
He would go on to the French town
of Saint Lo, where mortar shrapnel from
a German attack knocked out two teeth
as other pieces lodged in his jaw. The
incident killed another American soldier
with Keller and seriously injured two
others. Keller helped those injured get
aid at a field hospital, later earning him
his first Purple Heart.
" I couldn't leave the guys, " he says,
adding that he was under fire going in
and coming out with each man.
Several months later, he was again
hit by mortar shrapnel working with a
mobile radio unit in Luxembourg during
the Battle of the Bulge. His service there
would later garner a second Purple
Heart.
" I still have a small piece of mortar
shrapnel that worked its way out a
couple years ago and is in my lower right
September 2020 | Cooperative Living | 9
lip, " Keller says. " My buddies said
I could have it taken out but, I said,
'Heck no, I'll keep it for a souvenir.' "
Among other assignments the
veteran enjoys noting is that, before the
Battle of the Bulge, he was stationed in
Versailles for the Supreme Headquarters
Allied Expeditionary Force, led by
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
THE HONORS KEEP COMING
The wartime recognitions continued
for Keller in 2019. Hundreds of people
gathered at the French Embassy in
Washington, D.C., to see him and four
(continued on page 10)
Donald Keller and U.S.
Sen. Bob Dole meet
in Washington, D.C.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DONALD KELLER

http://www.co-opliving.com

Cooperative Living September 2020

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