Veteran brings tales of WWII, sounds of bluegrass music to the next generation

Edd Waldroup. Photo by Emily Ford, Salisbury Post

Edd Waldroup's grandchildren brought this sand back from Normandy, France.

Edd Waldroup

Edd Waldroup carried this photo in his wallet for years, showing him in uniform with his brother Foch Waldroup (left) and father Henry C. Waldroup in 1943.

Kannapolis veteran Edd Waldroup stormed Omaha Beach to help liberate France and survived the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — Edd Waldroup’s night terrors used to wake his children.

"He would scream, ‘Head yon way! Head yon way!’ “ said Teresa Bean, now 53, the youngest of Waldroup’s three children. ”I had no idea until I was older that it was about the war.“

World War II no longer haunts Waldroup. A self-proclaimed hillbilly and self-taught bluegrass musician, Waldroup now speaks of his military service not with fear but with excitement and pride.

He tells of wading ashore at Omaha Beach in chest-deep water to help liberate France. He speaks about surviving the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle that Americans fought during the war.

He recalls becoming separated from his outfit, the 158th Engineer Combat Battalion, for more than a month after hiding from German troops so he could relay a secret message to commanders.

”I guess I was scared in a way, but you didn’t have time to be afraid,“ Waldroup said. ”You were busy protecting yourself.“

During the war, Fanniebelle Waldroup received a letter from the Army stating that her new husband was missing in action. For weeks, she feared he might be dead.

”I’d just take it one day at a time,“ she said. ”I had hope that he was still alive.“

Many in his battalion perished.

”There were not too many of us in my original outfit who came back,“ he said. ”Not even enough to have a reunion.“

• • •

Born in the North Carolina mountains, Waldroup was already a proficient musician when he moved to Kannapolis at age 14 so his parents could work in Cannon Mills. He can play nearly any instrument and regularly performs for school children and nursing home residents on the guitar and banjo while singing bluegrass, country and gospel standards.

A jack of all trades, Waldroup can fix a car, grow a 2-pound tomato and recite poetry. At age 86, he maintains not only his yard but several others in the neighborhood.

”He’s just real special,“ said son Mike Waldroup, who also lives in Kannapolis. ”He’s very protective. He’s always looked after us, and he still does.“

Alongside a bottle of sand from Omaha Beach collected by his grandchildren last year, Waldroup keeps his induction notice from the U.S. Army, dated April 21, 1943. At the time, he was still in Cannon High School, where he was trying to catch up.

He’d fallen behind while living in the mountains, where schooling came second to farming.

”Well, here come the Army,“ Waldroup said. ”The world war was pretty hot then. The GIs who were volunteering were already gone. Pearl Harbor had us all stirred up, they really hit us a lick.

”Then here comes Hitler and he was trying to take over Europe. Everybody was red hot to go and serve.“

Waldroup was drafted.

”I was excited to serve,“ he said. ”We was going to whip the Germans.“

During his first furlough in December 1943, he married Fanniebelle, a ”pretty little gal“ he’d met in high school. They drove to South Carolina, where marriage licenses were easier to get, and exchanged vows.

The next day he received a telegram that his furlough had been canceled with orders to return immediately.

Six months later, Waldroup jumped off a landship tank and held his M1 rifle over his head as he waded ashore, part of the third wave landing at Omaha Beach.

”We lost a lot of men on that beach,“ he said.

Waldroup went through five countries during WWII and scratched each name on his canteen: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and Germany. His son has the canteen now.

That time in the military also inspired his son to serve. Mike Waldroup was in the Air Force from 1967 to 1971 in Europe. He calls his father’s service ”incredible.“

• • •

When Waldroup prepares to tell a war story, he leans close and begins with a friendly, ”Hey!“

During the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive, he became trapped.

”The Germans broke through and captured some of our big guns and turned them on us,“ he said.

The Germans drove the Americans back to the Belgian town of Bastogne. While Waldroup and another soldier were sending messages in secret code at a relay station housed in a countryside chateau, German troops were making a push to take Bastogne.

German paratroopers landed 100 yards from the chateau. Waldroup and the other soldier escaped by hiding under a hedgerow. They buried their equipment in case they were captured.

”Being an old sly fox and a possum hunter and ‘coon hunter and country boy, we knew how to elude the Germans,“ Waldroup said.

They crept under cover to a nearby village, where only a priest remained.

”Between what French I could speak and what English he could speak, he told us that an American tank and a truckload of ammunition were broke down 1 kilometer from there,“ Waldroup said.

As they approached, the tank nearly fired on them.

”We dropped our rifles and yelled. We hollered and told them we were Americans,“ he said.

He served with the unit until he was reunited with the 158th more than a month later. When the war ended, he went back to the chateau to recover his equipment, but the Germans had dug it up and destroyed it.

• • •

During the war, Waldroup learned international Morse code, strung telephone wire, did electrical work, helped construct a pontoon bridge across the Rhine River and cleared minefields. As a sergeant, he oversaw a crew of German prisoners.

But like so many veterans, Waldroup for years said little about his two years and eight months of active service.

”The war was not talked about when I was a child,“ said his daughter, Teresa Bean, who lives in Wilmington. ”It was not a very fond memory.“

After Waldroup began sharing memories with his family, Bean took her father to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. He wore a cap proclaiming ”WWII veteran“ with a patch denoting his participation in the D-Day Normandy landing.

”It was quite an experience,“ Bean said. ”I don’t think I was ready for it, and I know my mother wasn’t ready for it.“

Men and women approached Waldroup with tears streaming down their faces.

”People would come up to him and cry on his shoulder,“ Bean said. ”People would hug him.“

In the car on the way home, the family began to comprehend the magnitude of Waldroup’s service and the hardships he survived.

”My mom said, ‘I had no idea,’ “ Bean said.

• • •

Waldroup survived World War II but nearly died in 1963 from a kidney stone attack. He was hospitalized for three month in Concord and lost a kidney.

”The doctors had basically given up on him,“ said Debbie Ezzell, the middle Waldroup child who lives in Durham. ”Later, they called him a walking miracle.“

Doctors attributed Waldroup’s survival to his strong will to live.

”He loves life,“ Ezzell said. ”Anything he does, he gives it 110 percent.“

Waldroup usually worked two jobs. He studied business administration when he returned from the war but went to work in Cannon Mills because ”I was making more money weaving than the banker was making,“ he said.

He left the mill in 1958 to build missiles for Douglas Aircraft in Charlotte for four years, and when he returned to textiles he also started a painting business. He retired from the mill in 1983 and now dotes on his eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When Waldroup’s children were young, he taught them to fish, play instruments and maintain their cars. His daughters were no different from his son.

”The last thing I wanted to do was hang around while he was working on a car,“ Ezzell said. ”But he would be changing the oil and he’d say ‘Deborah, I want you to look at this and see how I do this. You need to know about this.’ “

Neighbors still call Waldroup to fix a broken washer or look at a malfunctioning car. He can finish a word puzzle book in a day and spends so much time in his large garden that Bean buys him Gatorade by the case.

”He doesn’t know the word ‘no,’ “ she said.

• • •

Edd and Fanniebelle Waldroup have attended the West A Street Church of God for many years. Their faith, like their marriage, is strong.

Fanniebelle Waldroup listens with a knowing smile as her husband performs ”That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine“ and recites ”Father’s Table Grace“ in their modest Kannapolis home.

”They take care of each other,“ Ezzell said. ”They have mutual respect.“

On a recent evening, Waldroup said the blessing before a meal.

”He said ‘Thank you God for the energy to endure to go on,’ “ Ezzell said. ”I thought, ‘Wow, that is really something.’ “

Contact Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.