SL_People_Laurie Foote_1123_Dept 11 / 29 / 23 3 : 23 PM Page 3 HEROES ’ JOURNEY Of the 16.5 million men and women who served in World War II , only about 240,000 are still living , accord - ing to the U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs . Among them : Corporal Benjamin Melvin Berry , who is 100 years old , and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Ruser Jr . , 98 . Corporal Berry grew up in Willow Grove and now lives in Philadelphia . He was a member of the 3rd U.S . Army Quartermaster Corps , and served from 1943 to 1945 . He land - ed on Omaha Beach in Normandy , France , on July 28 , 1944 , and Benjamin Melvin Berry served through France and into Belgium and Luxemburg for the Battle of the Bulge . He also helped liberate the concentration camp in Dachau , Germany . “ As the Jewish prisoners were released , I saw the men were nothing but skin and bones , ” he recalls . “ I myself was skin and bones , but compared to them I was fat and healthy . It’s something I can’t get out of my mind , seeing other human beings treated as poorly as they were . ” At the conclusion of the war in Europe , Corporal Berry and his unit were ordered to Japan to support an - other war . His unit was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when the war in Japan ended . PFC Ruser , who has lived in Philadel - phia and Conshohock - en , served as a combat medic in the Second Battalion , medical de - tachment of the 12th Infantry Regiment , 4th Infantry Division . He and his unit landed at Utah Beach in Nor - Jacob Joseph Ruser Jr . mandy on June 6 , 1944 ; he and his fellow combat medics helped save hundreds of lives during and after the assault . Also , from September to December 1944 , he served in the al Battleof Hurtgen Forest , known as one of the grisliest stiv campaignsin the European theater of operations . e “ Working out is my Zen F & “ Goinginto Hurtgen was like going into a meat de grinder , ” Ruser recalls . “ At one point they called a ra time , and bodybuilding Pa truce in the fighting so both sides could pick up the ns woundedand the dead to give them the respect they ra is my creative outlet . ” Vete deserved . ” ia PFCRuser received numerous accolades for his ef - lph fortsduring his 26 months of active military service , e She has at least one ambition in her physique , extraordinary . She doesn’t see lad andhecontinued his service as a Department of De - i sights for the near future — qualifying for it that way . Ph fensecivilian for more than 30 years . andwinning the OCB Yorton Cup , which “ Ithink I’m a normal , ordinary person , ” the Eventhough so much time has passed , Corporal f shedescribes as “ the Olympics of natural she says . “ When people say things like o y BerryandPFC Ruser still remember their wartime expe - s bodybuilding . ” Thenext Yorton Cup , her I’minspirational or they’re impressed with rte rienceswith startling clarity . Both were honored for second , will be in September 2024 . what I do , I think I’m lucky with what I cou Footeunderstands why some people do . It keeps me healthy , and it keeps my theirservice to the country as grand marshals of the tos might consider her accomplishments , habits good . I eat right . I go to bed early . 2023Philadelphia Veterans Parade & Festival over Pho ? including her finely sculpted 54 - year - old I’m pretty boring , and I like it . ” VeteransDay weekend . SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 15 ISSUE 3 52 |