230504 Shotgun

I have had a requests for the shotgun story mentioned in a previous post. As far as I know, no one was killed, at least I don't know for sure, but then...

The story happened back in the fifties. It is a true story that scared the hell out of me. I was just a boy when the story occurred. My cousin Carolann married a man by the name of Bill Burg. He was an ex marine who served in the Korean war or as it was called the police action in Korea. He was working as a tow truck driver after the war. He seemed nice enough at first, but a little scary too. Bill was a heavy drinker and he became abusive to my cousin Carolann. She packed up her clothes and left him after he beat her. Like all abusive men he tried to get her back, but Carolann was done with him.

She was visiting my mom one afternoon as she regularly did. I was sitting by the window in the living room when I looked out the window and saw Bill creeping up on the front porch. I said, “Mom, Bill Burg is on the porch.” At that point he burst through the front door to drag Carolann out of the house. Bill was a big, well built man and he scared me. I jumped from my chair and in a few leaps I was over the stair railing and headed upstairs, shaking like a leaf in a strong wind. Bill tried to get to Carolann, but my 5’2” little Irish mother got between them and backed this hulking man right out the door. Bill, even in his drunken state, knew better than to lay a finger on mom. If he had he would have to face dad and that outcome would not have been good for Bill. Dad spent his working days hauling sides of beef into and out of his truck to deliver them to restaurants.

Dad came home from his job that evening and mom told him what happened. Mom and dad had proactively raised Carolann and her sister and he loved those girls. Dad didn’t say a word. He went into the basement landing and picked up his shotgun and loaded it and headed to the door. He knew Bill always had a pistol close at hand. I don’t know how mom convinced him not to go and kill Bill, but she managed to do so, one of the few times anyone ever changed dad from doing what he was determined to do. Dad could have beat Bill senseless in a fight, but even dad wouldn’t have survived a bullet from a high caliber handgun. I don’t know what happened to dad’s shotgun, but there was never a firearm in our home after that incident.

I found out later that when uncle Kenny (WW-2 Marine and a member of Carlson's raider battalion) heard about what Bill did, he paid a visit to Bill. No one ever saw Bill after that. I suppose a story about uncle Kenny in order and his story is one for the ages. He was a devil and an angel all wrapped into one man.