PLAINWELL, Mich. — Ahead of Memorial Day, Norman Hinga from Plainwell, Michigan, remembers his father’s best friend who died while serving in World War II. His name was Leigh Faunce, and his name lives on in the Hinga family.
“Leigh was my dad's best man at the wedding of my dad, Edward, and my mother, Edith Hinga,” Hinga told FOX 17. His dad and Leigh grew up together.
Although he didn’t have a chance to really get to know his father’s dear friend, he remembers how his father described him.
“He was of great character. A quiet, thoughtful, young man, but patriotic, so he joined that National Guard unit, and just like his uncle had before him,” he said.
When Faunce went to the South Pacific in New Guinea, he was killed, eventually taking an emotional toll on Edward.
“That had a tremendous effect on my dad, who was preparing to either get drafted or enlist in the Navy, which he eventually did,” Hinga said his father joined the navy in honor of his friend who lost his life in his ealry twenties.
After returning from the war, his father found the slightest peace in Faunce’s death.
“He got word from other members of the unit Leigh was in…. he was told Leigh was a heck of a machine gunner. He did his job well,” Hinga said his father was proud of his friend.
Faunce and his uncle Charles, who died in World War I, are just many soldiers from Plainwell who Norman writes about in his book, “Gunner’s Mate Striker.” The book shows what serving during the largest war in history meant to the people of Plainwell.
“They were fighting for the very existence of the country. And they knew that's why he had such a deep patriotic support, and so many young men and women went forward to serve to defeat those two powers,” Hinga said.
To the Hinga’s family, Leigh was more than just a soldier and a best man. He was a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice.
