Thanks, Daddy!

Below is a photo of our parents taken in 1942, soon after their wedding. As you can see, Daddy was in the Army and Mother was beautiful. From the ribbons, stripes and medals, Daddy was a Master Gunnery Sergeant, no small feat for that era. The Army was Daddy’s second branch of the military since he began his tour of duty with the Marines in 1925, at Fort Logan in Colorado. Born in 1910, that would make him around fifteen with his first enlistment but this was not unusual for boys looking for adventure at that time.

Daddy was born in Madison County,North Carolina. His family moved in early 1911 to Loveland, Colorado. Our grandfather was a bit of a nomad and the "Wild, Wild West" with promises of fortunes untold was calling to him. Times and territories were untested and I cannot imagine our grandmother with two babies and another on the way traveling to the frontier and leaving her loving family behind. The family expanded to ten children while in Colorado, with two more to arrive upon returning to North Carolina many, many years later. The work was hard, grueling and unrelenting, totally different from the mountains of North Carolina, and not much of a childhood for young ones. Grandfather was demanding and not one to be questioned.

Perhaps with this background in mind, it is easy to suppose that the military was a great escape and an adventure of a lifetime. How difficult could boot camp be after fourteen hour days harvesting sugar beets  fighting the fierce weather of the Rockies, and tolerating Grandfather? For a curious young man and his older brother, there was a world out there and they had every intention of discovering it and getting an education. And that is just what happened.

Following four years with the Marines, Daddy enlisted in the Army and would remain with the Army until his honorable discharge in 1946. Even though there were few times that military service was mentioned during our childhood, judging from photographs, letters and recommendations found about thirty years later, I think Daddy was proud of his military service. Had it not been for a broken back in Iceland of 1945, I believe the Army would have been his career. As a child of the ‘60’s, the Vietnam War was in full swing and the only real whipping I received from Daddy was over an anti-war comment, I was stupid enough to utter. After what he had seen and endured during WWII, there would be no “doves” settling in our home. This moment not only changed my attitude; later it would play an important role in my future.  No, I did not join the military but I did receive a scholarship for all my college years based on my academic record and my father's military record.  Never again did I question the militia of our country.

As an adult, there are so many questions I would like to have had answered by Daddy. But as a child, the biggest question I had was “When can we go horseback riding?” Daddy died when I was thirteen and Sister was nine so we really did miss that time of bonding. Mother was from the genteel generation that did not talk about things past and with all grandparents deceased, we would wait three decades before finding the boxes with the answers. But every November 11th, we are most proud of the bravery of our father and thankful to have known that his devotion to America was a lifelong passion.  VETERANS, thank you for all you have done to make our country a safe place to live.