IN THE NEWS: We had thought we’d seen every story possible about
Zippo saving a soldier’s life by stopping a bullet but a reader
forwards a clipping about a new one, this time happening to a
veteran of the Korean War.

Our thanks to Robert B. Ward in Wellsboro who forwarded a story
from the July 14 issue of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

John C. Bitler is the soldier in question, and his story appear
as part of a weekly series to commemorate the 55th anniversary of
the end of the Korean War.

“For one violent, chaotic night in 1953, smoking was not
hazardous to Unityville resident John C. Bitler’s health. In fact,
Bitler’s smoking habit may have saved his life,” the story
says.

Bitler was wounded in the upper thigh during fighting in the
Ch’orwon Valley and only later realized the Zippo in his breast
pocked had stopped a second enemy bullet.

While being loaded into a Jeep, he asked the medics to give him
a cigarette. “They gave me one and I reached into my pocket and
pullet out my lighter and saw that I had a burp gun slug all down
through it,” he said, noting that the lighter still worked.

The article includes pictures of Bitler, who is no longer a
smoker, and one of his trusty Zippo.

The story goes on to describe the fierce fighting with ensued, a
battle so bad he couldn’t be evacuated from the location for
several hours despite his injury. Eventually, Bitler wound up in a
MASH unit away from the front lines.

An Army colonel presented him with a Purple Heart and a promise
– unfulfilled, as it would turn out – that he would be awarded the
Bronze Star.

After his discharge in 1954, he returned to Millville and
resumed his life – getting married, having three children and
working with Asplundh for 38 years until his retirement in
1993.

He didn’t talk about the war and had no interest in saving any
of the memorabilia – including the lucky Zippo – but his mother
kept everything.

In 1988, two World War II veterans convinced Bitler to join the
Order of the Purple Heart. He enjoyed the camaraderie and
discovered that talking about his war experiences became easier to
do. He has since been involved in several veterans groups in that
area.