211. Pensacola Teenager Writes of Brother's Death on Okinawa

Updated: Mar 29, 2022

Fourteen-year old Miss Hilda Earle Holm (Cyphers) was living in her hometown of Pensacola when the war began in 1941. “It was an exciting time,” she recalls. “All the Pensacola boys were joining the Navy and the Army. Everyone was so proud. We would have going-away parties in the neighborhood. Everyone would come and it was just fun, fun, fun. Of course, I had no idea that all of these people were going to be killed.” Once the war was underway and had reached global proportions, Hilda understood the cost of war. “We started losing people and it was very sad.” Hilda's brothers both joined the military. Her brother John joined the Army (Company "G" of the 184th Infantry Regiment) and her brother Reinhardt joined the Navy (BB-56 USS Washington). She recalls that those were very tense times because the news from the front lines was slow to reach the home front. There was no television to inform Americans back home, so letters were the most reliable form of communication to learn news of loved ones overseas. The letters contained news of daily life in the Army and the Navy, describing the food, job duties, and weather reports. Military personnel were restricted about what they could reveal and the letters were often censored.

Both John and Reinhardt wrote numerous letters home, which were a blessing for Hilda's mother, Annie Sorena Petersen Holm. John’s letters were particularly upbeat and happy, describing the long voyage aboard ship to the Philippine Islands and Okinawa and humorously relaying that he had been at sea so long that the felt like he had joined the Navy, instead of the Army. His letters stopped once he reached Okinawa. Perhaps his mother never really knew the danger and the horror they were facing on the island. Hilda recalls the many houses around Pensacola with flags in the window, bearing a bright red stripe around the border with a blue star in the middle of the flag. The blue star indicated that someone from that household was serving in the armed forces. Some Pensacola households, such as the Holm household, displayed flags bearing more than one star – one star for each service member. Each star represented someone from that household – a son, a husband, a brother – who was fighting in WWII in the Navy, the Marines or the Army. The service flag was first displayed in the front windows of homes during WWI to signify a son or husband serving in the military. The flag quickly became known as the “son in service” flag with each blue star indicating one family member. During World War II, the Department of War issued specifications of the manufacture of the flag and established guidelines indicating when or where the flag could be flown. The blue star was covered or replaced with a gold star to indicate that the family member was killed in action. The blue star represents hope and pride, while the gold star represents sacrifice to the cause of liberty and freedom. “There were so many gold stars in windows all over Pensacola,” Hilda recalled. “It was very sad.” The sadness then hit home for Hilda and her family in a way that she could not imagine. “It was April of 1945.

One particular afternoon, I was home alone at our house on LaRua Street. My mother and my sister had gone to the movies,” Hilda remembers. “There was a knock at the door, and when I answered the door, there were uniformed soldiers at the door, delivering a telegram.” The telegram contained the news that Hilda's older brother, US Army Lt. John Angus Holm Jr. had been killed in action in Okinawa on April 21, 1945. The news was devastating for the family. John was buried in Okinawa and his body was returned to the United States after the war ended and was buried in St. John’s cemetery in the Holm family plot. John Holm, although an older brother, was very much a father-figure to Hilda, whose own father had died ten years earlier (1937). “It was absolutely devastating that John was killed in the war,” Hilda said sadly. “It was hard to believe that he would not be coming home.”

Hilda received a letter from her brother’s commanding officer Colonel John M. Finn, written on July 2, 1945, which stated “I am terribly sorry it is necessary for me to write this letter. I am glad you wrote me, as I am more than glad to help in any way that I can. I will not attempt to explain why your heartbreak had to be increased by the lack of speedy information, but please believe me we do realize what you suffer and we try to soften the pain as much as possible. Letters have been written to John's wife giving the important and necessary facts. I only hope that she has received them by now. John came to us while we were on Leyte, prior to the Okinawa campaign, and immediately made a fine impression. His devotion to duty, fine personality and leadership displayed in training his men only made the impression stronger. After only a few days of combat I heard good reports on his work. I personally looked him up in the front lines and congratulated him and thanked him for his fine work. His men worshiped him and that included men who had been through three previous battles.

On April 21st, “G” Company was ordered to take Ouki Hill. The approaches thereto were open and swept by enemy fire. John, although an executive officer, was not required to be at the front, but he gathered his men together and under cover of heavy friendly fire he personally led his inspired men across the open ground, up the steep slope and onto the hill. In the ensuing bitter hand to hand struggle, John was the leader, but a mortar shell landed near him and he died a hero’s death. He died instantly without suffering. He was not disfigured. He was given a military funeral and was buried in the 7th Division Cemetery on Okinawa Island. The cemetery is located in a truly beautiful spot – a fit resting place for a gallant soldier and man. Miss Holm, I know that anything I say will not ease your pain at the loss of your brother. But believe me, I join you in your sorrow - we have lost a fine man. I know I have said this poorly, but I truly hope it might help a little. If there is anything I can do please do not fail to call on me. Please remember – John was one of my boys too – I am very proud of him. Sincerely, John M. Finn.” Hilda said later, “I was working at the San Carlos Hotel in Pensacola when the news came that the war was finally over,” recalls Hilda. “What a glorious day! What a celebration! Everyone was thrilled that the war was over. Excitement was in the air. Car horns were honking. People were in the streets. I’ll never forget that.” Hilda eventually married a naval officer, Robert Allen Cyphers and together they raised a large family. Then in 2014, she passed away in Atlanta, Georgia and was buried next to her husband in the Arlington Memorial Cemetery in Fulton County, GA.