A daughter’s discovery of her father’s bravery
to assist ending the tyranny of World War II
By Karen Sisson Marshall
I was surprised to discover how little I knew about World War II when I recently spent three years researching my own father’s story for a book project. My family was aware my father, Lieutenant John Sisson, went ashore on D-Day morning with the 22nd Infantry Regiment and earned two Purple Hearts as he fought his way across Europe. Other than this basic information, we only had vague stories of his experiences.
As I studied my father’s personal letters and papers augmented by regimental histories, military action reports, and the personal accounts of his peers, I realized I had never truly understood the challenge his generation faced during those war years. Worse than that, I had taken for granted the liberties they secured for me.
Looking through the eyes of a man I knew so well changed my entire attitude toward service to country and my own definition of bravery. His story, in turn, became one with the story of his generation.
The 80th anniversary of VE Day, that is Victory in Europe, takes place on May 8, 2025. As a nation and all citizens of the work, we would be wise to consider the challenge posed by Katherine Miiyaaman, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy at the eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landing at Normandy just eleven months ago:
“They stood the watch 80 years ago… so that we can sleep soundly in safety…
American World War II veterans, you stand relieved. We have the watch.”
Germany’s final surrender on May 8, 1945, marked the end of the Third Reich, which had been created by Hitler 12 years earlier with the goal of world domination. An estimated 50 to 75 million people perished during WWII, the greatest loss of life due to a war in human history. Almost every country in the world was impacted before the horrific conflict finally ended with the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
That victory required the fortitude, faith, and sacrifice of an entire generation of young men and women to literally save a world almost consumed by ambition, nationalism, prejudice and chaos. Who were they? Although there are legions of movies and books on the war, what do we really know about the millions of individuals called to service in our own country and abroad? Each one, in their own way, kept freedom and hope alive for those of us living today. They were truly “ordinary people who did extraordinary things to make the world ordinary again,” in the words of a 22nd Infantry Regiment Vietnam veteran.
Too often, they never shared their experiences with even their own families. And now, they are almost gone. Will we forget what they endured? Do we as a nation understand the responsibilities of assuming “the watch?”
Almost every day a news headline makes me wonder.
In recognition of the anniversaries of VE Day in May and the subsequent end of World War II in September, I encourage every American to reconsider the men and women in their own family who lived through those war years. Take the time to learn more about their untold stories. I found they are ours to discover in attics and basements, in letters home, service records, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings. Whether your loved ones served at home or abroad, each story can inform and inspire.
As we look toward 2026 and the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth, we need our family members who lived through those catastrophic times to help unite us. They can remind us of the profound warning of an old rifleman, “of the horrors that we are capable of, to remind us not to go down that road again.”
The World War II generation’s watch is over, ours has only just begun.
We cannot afford to fail them. Let’s honor their memory and strive to unite under the collective banner of courage and decency as if the nightmare of a world at war just occurred and May 8 and September 2, 1945, were yesterday.
“They stood the watch 80 years ago… so that we can sleep soundly in safety…
American World War II veterans, you stand relieved. We have the watch.
Karen Sisson Marshall of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is the author of Finding My Father’s Footsteps: A Journey Within the Battlefields of WW II. To learn more about her book, and the incredible journey of her father, visit her website and purchase the book.
To learn more about Chester County's deep roots in the history of the United States, check out Chester County Originals.
