Vietnam War veteran Wayne Hanlon of Payne Springs stands with Monroe Menke III at the Purple Heart Day ceremony held at CampV in Tyler on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Menke received a purple dog tag in honor of his father Monroe Menke Jr. of Cuero. Purple Heart Day falls every year on August 7 honoring those who were wounded while serving in the military. The event was hosted by Community Assisting Military Personnel and Veterans (CampV) and the East Texas Veterans Community Council.

TYLER — Monroe Menke III made the drive to Tyler on Friday with a photo of his father, Monroe G. Menke Jr., and a newspaper clipping from the Victoria Advocate from April 25, 1944.

He left with an inscribed purple dog tag honoring his late father for earning a Purple Heart as part of a Purple Heart Day celebration at CampV in Tyler.

“My father would be proud, but he’d be embarrassed,” said the son. “He’d be happy in his heart, but he would have a hard exterior on the outside.”

To understand where the lack of emotion comes from, one has to hear the stories from World War II.

In the article on April 25, 1944, in the Victoria Advocate, Monroe Menke made headlines for shooting down two Japanese torpedo planes while in the Navy (his two brothers also fought in World War II).

However, the later that year he was almost killed as the ship was attacked.

“He shot a five-inch gun on the USS Mahan and on that day, they had to abandon ship,” said Monroe Menke III. “He jumped off.”

Menke Jr., who lived in Cuero and still has family in the area, was shot and hung onto a large flotation ring with 25 of his shipmates.

“My father had a bullet hole in him and was bleeding in the water,” said his son. “The guy next to him on the flotation ring was taken by a shark in the water. The shark came after him because of my father’s blood. He had to live with that every day and it’s why he battled alcoholism.

“They floated for a whole day until the Japanese fighter planes finally left the area and they were rescued by another ship,” Menke III explained. “The USS Mahan was on fire and damaged so our troops had to destroy it so the enemy could not get it and steal any of our military intelligence.”

The USS Mahan went to Pearl Harbor in 1937. The ship was struck by Japanese fighters on Dec. 7, 1944 and destroyed two days later.

Monroe Menke III is a chaplain with the Patriot Guard Riders and lives in Lake Palestine. He received the special purple dog tag from Jim Snow in honor of his father. The Purple Heart Day ceremony honors those who were wounded while serving in the military. The event was hosted by Community Assisting Military Personnel and Veterans (CampV) and the East Texas Veterans Community Council.

Twitter: @23johnanderson