Bill Diehm was 8 years old, living above his grandfather’s hardware store on Susquehanna Street, when he watched his hometown transform from Mauch Chunk to Jim Thorpe.

Now, nearly seven decades later, the 79-year-old veteran’s life story mirrors the evolution of his community — shaped by service, dedication and an unwavering commitment to honoring those who served.

The streets of his childhood bore little resemblance to today’s Jim Thorpe.

“Not many of those buildings are there anymore, except for where the Myst restaurant is, and the open space, that’s where my grandfather’s hardware store was,” Diehm said. “The area was bustling with businesses — apartments, a car dealership and various shops lined the street.”

Military service ran deep in Diehm’s family, creating a foundation that would shape his own path.

His father served as a radar operator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, spending 24 months in the Fiji Islands “tracking Japanese air and water traffic such as boats and ships and submarines.”

Diehm’s uncle, Dan Cooper, fought with Patton’s 3rd Army and was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, while another uncle, William Sander, served in the 1t Marine Division, fighting at Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa.

“A lot of the people who I traveled around with, and my parents did, were military kind of guys. They were always talking war stories,” Diehm said.

When Diehm graduated from Jim Thorpe High School in 1964, military service was a common path for young men. His class of 75 students was made up of 38 boys and 39 girls.

“Out of the boys, 23 of us joined the military, and one of the girls, she outranked everybody. Eileen Windbeck. She became a Navy nurse. She was a lieutenant.”

Military role

Diehm enlisted in the United States Army Security Agency.

“Our role in the Army was to copy signals,” Diehm said. “Anything that was out over the airways of any kind of traffic, that’s what we did.”

After basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, he completed specialized training as a Morse code intercept operator at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

In September 1965, Diehm departed the United States aboard one of the last troop transports, the Maurice Rose.

“Ten days across the Atlantic to get to Bremerhaven, Germany,” Diehm recalled.

He was stationed at Herzo Base near Nuremberg, where he spent the next three years.

“What I did in my military occupational specialty was just like going to work,” Diehm said. “It was three shifts, 7 until 3, 3 to 11, 11 to 7. It never shut down because we kept going.”

The experience broadened Diehm’s horizons beyond the familiar confines of Jim Thorpe.

“When I got in the military, I met guys from all over the United States, from mostly on the East Coast,” he said. “When I got into the Army Security Agency, which pooled everybody from across the nation, I really got to meet guys from Texas, California, Alaska.”

After his discharge in December 1968 — “four years, three years, 11 months and 21 days” — Diehm embarked on an extended journey home that took him through places like New Orleans, Texas, and California before finally returning to Jim Thorpe.

During this adventure, he joined the American Legion at a post in St. Petersburg, Florida, beginning what would become a 56-year membership.

Community commitment

Upon returning home, Diehm became deeply involved in community service. He joined the Jim Thorpe Fire Department in 1969, where he has served for 56 years, and became active in American Legion Post 304. His involvement with the Legion’s honor guard led to one of his most meaningful contributions — playing taps at veterans’ funerals and local ceremonies.

The skill developed from childhood memories of communicating with friends using bugles.

“We lived up on this trail and nobody had phones,” Diehm said. “When Kenny Downs lived over in the village, Hacklebernie, we bought bugles. You could buy bugles for about five bucks and we made up call systems.

“If he could come over, he’d play a charge or something on the bugle. If he had to eat, he’d play Mess Call or something like that. That’s how we did it.”

When fellow Legion member Francis O’Donnell suggested he join the honor guard, Diehm offered to play taps live instead of using the eight-track recorder they had been using.

“I told them, I can play taps for you,” he said. “So that’s how it started. I started playing taps around ... probably around 1975 or ’76.”

For nearly 50 years, Diehm has provided this final tribute to fallen veterans.

“I’ve always been respectful of veterans and it means a lot to honor them,” he said.

Though age has made the bugle more challenging to play, forcing him to sometimes use an electronic horn at cemetery services, he still plays live for special occasions, including an annual ceremony with the Jim Thorpers bike team in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Today, as first vice commander of both American Legion Post 304 and its Sons of American Legion chapter, Diehm works to address declining membership and community involvement.

The post membership currently stands at 196, down from nearly 300 when he first joined. The honor guard, which once fielded 15 members for funerals, now struggles to gather three or four.

“May 24th was my 79th birthday,” he said. “But the guys to replace us are not there.”

Fostering

membership

Despite these challenges, the Legion remains active in community service. The organization sponsors an annual children’s fishing derby, provides scholarships, supports Boys State participants, maintains flag collection services and assists veterans with benefits navigation.

The Legion’s current membership drive targets both veterans and eligible family members through the Sons of American Legion program.

“If someone puts down on an application that their father or grandfather was in the military, then we go after him for the sons of American Legion,” Diehm said. “We do recruit hard.”

Through this effort, they’ve doubled the Sons chapter from 20 to 40 members.

Diehm’s message to younger generations emphasizes the importance of understanding the sacrifices made for freedom.

“I think they should just sit back sometimes and take a look at what they have and look at what everybody else has,” he said. “You’re a free country, and that’s because a lot of guys paid the price for that.”