Archie

April 26, 2019

You can see it in his eyes. 

Two photos of Archie Peck hang in the Sinclairville library. I see them every Friday when our writers’ group meets. Archie was a soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I. While serving as an infantryman in the U.S. 77th Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, his unit found itself surrounded in the German lines. The unit would subsequently gain the moniker "The Lost Battalion" as a result of this incident. This was the bloodiest battle of the war involving U.S. troops. When two of his unit were wounded, private Peck recruited another soldier to help him retrieve them. The other soldier was killed, but Archie managed to bring the wounded men back to his own lines through withering machine gun fire. He later said that it was his small size that saved him; he wasn’t a big enough target to get hit. 

He later settled in Sinclairville, opening a grocery store that is the predecessor of the present day Superette. His son operated Peck’s Custom meats for years, providing part-time employment to many young men in the village, including my son. His grandson is a good friend and member of the church I pastored for many years. 

It’s the eyes though, that tell the story. In the first photo, young Archie is standing with other recruits, not yet tested in battle, not yet subjected to the horrors of trench warfare. The second photo is the one that captures my attention. He is wearing his Medal of Honor, but the smile is gone, and the eyes are no longer bright and merry. They have seen too much. 

Every time I enter the library, I see those photos and am reminded of the sacrifice of those who have gone to war on our behalf. If they make it home, they come home changed, scarred, branded in their souls. I once remarked to a friend who was in Vietnam that I at times felt guilty that I was never in the military, never did my part for my country. It was the lottery years, and my number never came up. My friend said to me, “Jim, don’t ever feel that way. Be thankful you didn’t have to go, that you didn’t have to see and do what some of us did.” I am thankful. Not only that I haven’t had to wrestle with the demons of war, but also that others did. For me. So Archie, and to all my friends who were placed in harm’s way, thank you. Your nightmares are the price you paid for our sweet dreams, and we owe you more than we can offer.