Today is the day that we honor veterans. My father, a World War II veteran, wrote to me this morning that his plans for this day are to get his ears roto-rootered so he can hear again. He is shunning the free meal offerings, but I want him to know that I and others appreciate his World War II service.As readers of this blog will know it has been a sad year for me, my younger brother Mike, a Vietnam veteran, died on New Year's Day. My father-in-law Red, a member of the 75th Division in World War II died July 7th and my former father-in-law Walt, a member of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, died in October.
My uncle Bill, a World War II veteran died in 2008, and my stepfather Ray, a Navy pilot in World War II, died about 20 years ago.
In reality, I might not be here today except for the connection my grandmother, Ethel Tyson, and grandfather, Ray Smith, made at an Army base in Battle Creek, Michigan where my grandfather was stationed during World War I. I know he was a sergeant and don't know if he was headed to Europe at some point, but from what I understand he never left the States.
I could be wrong about this, and I'm sure my father will correct me if I am, but family lore has it that Ethel and Ray met at a dance at or near the base somewhere around 1918. The rest as they say is history.
So this day has special meaning for me. My father reminded me in an e-mail this morning that he recalled that during Vietnam when my brother and I returned home from our service there that we avoided wearing our uniform off the base because of the nasty reaction we got from folks. (We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is not known for its patriotic fervor). People held veterans in disdain in those days. When I went back to college, I avoided mentioning my service so as not to complicate my studies and grades with very liberal professors.
I'm grateful that the country has reached out to veterans, even when they disagree with the war the military service people are serving in. It is right to honor their service today and to say "Thank You."
3 comments:
I sent you an email telling you,and thanking you about your service. I may not be the sharpest knife in the dware but I did tell you I was proud of you. Im very sorry my spelling sucks.
Was it Camp Custer where Ethel and Ray met??? My grandfather, Charlie Brown was also there...he was involved in building many of the structures at the camp.
He was standing in line and someone wanted to know if anyone there could build trusses...and that's the story. He also remained in the states.
Also, thank YOU for your service!
Yes it was. My grandmother lived in Battle Creek and allegedly they met at a dance in the area that included local girls and soldiers from the camp.
I think I recall being at a horse show there once :)
I didn't know about the Ethel and Ray connection to the base at that time.
I also later learned (just last year) that my mother's mother, Ardath, was a 1921 graduate of Lapeer High School. I knew my great grandparents and grandmother and grandfather, Paul Misner, lived in Michigan, but did not know the Lapeer connection until last year.
One of these days I'll post an item about the research I have done on the Michigan connection of my family.
Post a Comment