Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I can’t stop thinking about my Dad.
Memorial Day is so much more than those of us realize who never fought in a war or were close to someone who was doing so. My brothers, friends and I just missed the Viet Nam War, but I knew of its pain and missing soldiers and tragedy.
But my father, oh my father. He was nineteen when he shipped off to Okinawa from Puget Sound in WWII. I was there for a convention seventy years later, and could hardly believe that I was seeing the last bit of American soil my father saw before he shipped out.
When he arrived, he fought in the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles in WWII, yet one not heralded in the media and in people’s minds for years to come. He told me of standing in a landing boat and watching his fellow soldiers crack up from the strain. Crying uncontrollably. Many were sent home.
But not my father. He spent his first night on shore in a Japanese tomb to avoid mortar shells, dead decaying bodies in jars, as was the custom. He told me of one night when he happened to roll over in his sleep and miss the shrapnel that dropped inches from his head. He told me of seeing kamikaze pilots fly their planes straight into ships and other targets. He told me of being scared to death and not knowing for sure why he was there.
But he never told me until 60 years after it happened. He kept it inside, festering, growing, churning…into what?
I believe when Tom Brokaw wrote of The Greatest Generation he was speaking of my Dad and the countless soldiers who came after him. Whether they fought in WWII or Viet Nam or Iraq or Afghanistan, any man or woman who fights in a war is one of that greatest generation. And they have paid a price that none of the rest of us will ever pay or ever truly know.
Here’s to all of you. Here’s to my Dad who died two years ago last month. I thank you. I am grateful to you. I love you. With all my heart.
Let us not forget who and what it is we celebrate and remember tomorrow. Here’s to you Dad.
My dad didn’t talk much about WWII either. Dad and his 4 brothers were in the war at the same time, all came home.
With today’s electronic media we “old” veterans talk about our times very freely, but then again, we were in a much different war in the mid 70′s and early 80′s.
Have a great Memorial Day, let’s especially keep our latest veterans in our thoughts today!
Walker
Walker, great to hear from a high school classmate. How did I miss that you were in Viet Nam???
I didn’t go to Viet Nam, though it was still in progress while I was in the Navy.
I was a mere “pawn” in a chess match called the Cold War.
I was on a fast attack submarine, then on a missile submarine. I worked in engineering, electrical/reactor plant operations. I have continued with this as a career in civilian life. Amazing the things I’ve learned and done!
While on the missile submarine, I rarely thought about the capabilities we had, that is probably a good thing.
Apparently the operations of the submarines were such that, if we missed a schedule for patrol, the president (yes, that one) was informed of the specifics. This would not shed well for the captain of the boat.
Walker “T”
Elizabeth, what a wonderful tribute to your dad, and all of our dads who were “over there.” Thank goodness he was able to tell you those things. Daddy served in a field hospital behind the lines, and never talked about the horrors he saw and treated. He never wanted to go back to Europe. (Mama finally went with Thayer without him–and after that he went with her to several countries and enjoyed it immensely. Maybe the memories had faded enough by then.)
That is such a wonderful picture of your dad. I will never forget his coming up to me and giving me a big hug after Daddy’s memorial service in 2001. I was so touched.
Oh Carol, thank you for sharing that memory of my dad with me. Boy do I miss him. I’m sure as a doctor your dad saw the worst of what happened to his fello soldiers there. I am glad he ended up going back to Europe w your mom. Love to all the Brewwr’s!