Memorial Day
Memorial Day is that time of year where we remember those who gave their lives to purchase the freedoms that so many have squandered today. For many Memorial day is merely a long weekend where we enjoy the onset of summer weather (not so much). However, for others of us, Memorial Day is a reminder of the holes and voids in our families. Entire family trajectories and futures changed by the ravages of war.
In Particular, The story of Private Edward “Ned” Wells Allord, Husband to Priscilla and 28-year-old father of three girls from Jaffrey New Hampshire. Drafted into the U.S. Army, Ned Allord faithfully and dutifully reported for duty when his country called. Leaving behind his three young daughters, Priscilla, Katherine, and the youngest Dorothy, Ned Allord went to war.
Battle of the Bulge
Assigned to the 393rd Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, Private Allord left in 1944 onward to Germany from his home in Jaffrey. On 2 March 1945, the division took the offensive, moving toward Cologne and crossing the Erft Canal near Glesch. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th.
Killed in Action
The 99th Infantry Division was the first complete division to cross the Rhine. Thereafter, the 99th Infantry Division attacked to the south. Both the 393d and 394th Infantry Regiments moved up rapidly, advancing 2000 and 3000 yards respectively. The 393d Infantry Regiment on its left secured the high ground immediately west of the Weid River. On its right, it the 99th seized Solscheid, while Elements of the 394th Infantry Regiment were engaged in house-to-house fighting in Honningen until mid-afternoon. Private Allord fell 17 March 1945. Killed in Action.
The Aftermath
That day, Priscilla Allord of Jaffrey became a widow. The eldest child also named Priscilla was just 5. Katherine was 3 and Dorothy, just over 1 year old were now war orphans. Ned Allord the young 28-year-old carpenter from Jaffrey lost to the ravages of war. Henri Chapelle American cemetery…Plot D, Row 15 Grave 42 is his final resting place.
This very personal story for me is a reminder of the deep price so many paid. Priscilla Allord was my grandmother; her middle child Katherine was my mother. Ned Allord was the grandfather I never knew. He was gone from us 19 years prior to my birth.
There are a couple of Memorials in the town of Jaffrey that bear his name as a war-fallen
member of the community. Each and every Memorial Day I recalled as a child watching my mother and her two sisters ceremoniously place a wreath at the base of the main memorial in the center of Jaffrey.
On this Memorial Day in 2021, I am heartened to see people enjoying the day with cook-outs and gatherings and the enjoyment of parades. It is that very sentimental freedom that was secured by people like my grandfather and we would do well not to forget that. When I grew up, I served our nation as a United States Marine. My sense of duty and purpose was never lost on the sacrifices of those who went before me.
