Breaking an unwritten code of honor
Honored veterans are, with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard behind them, seated from left, Ken Bailey of Voorheesville, George Bosset of Berne, and Ralph Courcelle of Colonie with Albany County Clerk Bruce Hidley, Colonie Supervisor Paula Mahan, Orange Motors’ Carl Keegan, and, at far right, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy who has celebrated living veterans for the last three years. Bailey, who earned a Bronze Star and five major Battle Stars, landed in Normandy six days after D Day. Later in 1944, his unit took the city of Aachen in Germany. After the war, Bailey resumed his career at Orange Motors and worked there for 46 years until he retired as sales manager. Bosset served in Great Britain during World War II where he provided support and conducted land surveys and also met his wife. Courcelle joined the Navy in 1943 and was assigned to an amphibious base in Falmouth, England where he served as a driver, hauled supplies, and helped prepare for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Both Bosset and Courcelle worked as engineers after the war.
To the Editor:
When I picked Ken Bailey up for dinner with a few friends, I could see something was really bothering him. He opened up the Nov. 17 Enterprise to page 6 and had me read the caption under the “Standing Up for Veterans” photo.
I immediately knew what was eating at him. The first sentence about Ken strongly suggests he is a D Day survivor, which he isn't. He actually landed on Utah Beach six days later, on June 12, 1944. Ken has spent the last 72 years prefacing any discussion of his role in World War II with, “Now, I wasn't there on D Day. I was six days later. There’s a big difference. I didn’t see anything like those guys did until much later. They’re the real heroes.”
Sixty-three members of Ken’s 4th Cavalry, led by Lieutenant Colonel Edward C. Dunn, Ken’s commanding officer, did make the first amphibious landing on French soil, six hours before D Day officially began. They landed on the Saint Marcouf Islands off the coast of France, but Ken wasn’t with them.
Six days later, LTC Dunn returned to England where he joined Ken on an LST [Landing Ship, Tank] bound for Utah Beach. It was weeks later when Ken found out where his colonel had been.
You have to understand the minds of these World War II veterans to realize that this, along with the inaccuracies on the county executive’s web page, and on the certificate Ken received, minor as it may seem at first blush, is causing him great anguish. Many thousands of GIs participated it the Normandy Invasion beyond D Day, but they all have elevated the actual D Day men to a much higher level than themselves, much like the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima do with the “the boys who took Guadalcanal.”
Believe it or not, Ken is actually feeling shame, thinking about his friends who did survive D Day reading this. Despite repeatedly being told it wasn't his fault, he feels like he has broken an unwritten code of honor, bordering on stolen valor, which is a real shame since the ceremony is intended to honor and recognize veterans for their service.
None of this was done intentionally, and I don't know where the information used by the county executive’s office came from...What I'm hoping, and asking, is that, if this piece appears in the digital version of The Altamont Enterprise, will you please amend it? And, if at all possible, could you print a correction, however small, in the next edition? This is really important to Ken, and would be very much appreciated.
Thank you, Melissa.
Mark Yingling
Clifton Park
Editor’s note: The change has been made in the caption under the online photo and this letter serves to inform our readers of the error in print. We thank Ken Bailey and Mark Yingling for setting the record straight. For a full portrait of Ken Bailey and his World War II service, go online to https://altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/02052015/humble-hero-turns-93.
Mary Rozak, spokeswoman for the Albany County Executive’s Office, said the Enterprise story was consulted for the county’s write-up on Bailey, but, after Yingling made the error clear, a new proclamation was issued immediately.