I was reading another blog a little bit ago that asked who you were remembering this memorial day weekend. I am remembering my dad.
As an 18 year old kid he left home with a bus ticket and a cardboard suitcase and went on a construction crew to help rebuild Pearl Harbor a few months after the bombing. While there he received his draft notice and came back to California and went in the Army.
After the usual training he ended up in the infintry and was mainly in Germany. He was one of numerous people that landed on the beaches at Normandy in the dark of night to mark where mines were laid so that the troups landing the next morning could do so more safely.
He wouldn't talk about his service for years and years and wouldn't even watch old John Wayne movies with all the shooting. I think that he probably had what they then called "shell shock" and it took many years to get over it. Many memories were put way back in his mind and a lot of it never came back until the start of the first gulf war. I heard later that it had the same effect on a lot of the vets.
He was a very proud American and believed very much in this country. He didn't live long enough to see the dedication of the WWII memorial but I was there the weekend it was dedicated for him.
Kathie
3 comments:
What a great way to remember by sharing his story. Isn't it amazing what things they did when they were so young?
What a lovely story.
Both my father and father-in-law served in the military and they're both gone now. I remember them and all of those who have served.
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