Monday, November 11, 2013

My father was a veteran

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan bombed Hawaii, and the U.S. declared war on Japan. So after that, the draft was for six months after the war ended. In February 1942, they lowered to age to 20 years, which caught me.
“In March 1942, I went to see a draft board member and asked him whether to start a crop. He said he saw no reason not to, and if they did, to just ask for time to get my crop in.
“On July 25, 1942, I got my notice to be examined on Aug. 12. I went to the draft board and asked for a two month delay and was refused. The draft board chairman said, ‘You will be getting $50 a month. You can hire someone to do it for you.’
“On Aug. 12, 1942, I was examined, passed and was sworn in the U.S. Army the same day. This was done in Roanoke, Virginia.”

“My birthday present on July 1, 1944 was going under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California and seeing the U.S.A. the last time for one and a half years.

--from my father’s writings

My father and his mother.

My father served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was a medic. He served from 1942 until 1945.
In 1942, he left behind his farming, his family and his life in rural Central Virginia to answer the call from Uncle Sam.
He saw parts of the country and the world that he would never have visited otherwise. He saw horror and pain. He made lifelong friends. He came home and was forever grateful for being able to come home.

Today on Veterans Day, we honor all veterans. We take a day to thank those who served their country.
There will be programs and ceremonies to formally honor veterans. I’ll attend one in my town.
But I also remember my father’s service. He has been gone for many years, but I still have his words, his memories, his thoughts about his time in the Army. I hold them dear.




18 comments:

  1. We are forever grateful to all these brave souls for their services. Your father looks so young in that photo! Thank goodness he came back home safe and sound.

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  2. Oh Tina this is so wonderful you have your Dad's writings I see where you inherited that ability to write so well. It was a special thing your Dad did and your Grandmother to let her son go to the unknown. I am proud of your Dad and all who now and then put their lives on hold for the freedom of others. Great post Tina. HUG B

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    1. Tina you are blessed to have your father's writings. Wow, a Pacific theater medic...

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  3. Thanks to your father and to all those who have served so that you and I may be free :)

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  4. bless your father. thanks for letting us remember his service. as a medic, i can only imagine the trauma and death he witnessed.

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  5. My heartfelt thanks go out to your father and everyone who came before and after.

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  6. Great tribute to your Dad. To me, remembrance is more meaningful when I can attach a name to it. We talk about freedoms , but I don't think we know how close we came to losing it.

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  7. I love the picture. This is a wonderful tribute to your father.

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  8. This is beautiful Tina. Such a wonderful and respectful tribute to your father. Hugs! xx

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  9. It's so nice that your father wrote his thoughts and memories down. It's important to remember these experiences. This is a wonderful tribute to your father and all veterans!

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  10. I am grateful for his service, my dad, uncles and father-in-law were all WWII vets as well. My FIL served as a medic too, but in Europe. Thank you for remembering and honoring our veterans today.

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  11. A wonderful tribute to your father! It's so nice that you have his writings. My father also served in the 40's. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands. We have many pictures of him at that time but no words.

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  12. I will think of your father and all veterans today....thank you for sharing.

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  13. A beautiful tribute to your dad, many thanks for sharing this special story!!

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  14. Lovely. My grandfather was a WWII veteran, and I always think of him on this day.

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  15. You are so very lucky to have your father's own writings. How beautiful -- this is such a magnificent tribute. So many veterans from WWII didn't talk much about their experiences. I am glad you have a record of this. And the photo is just wonderful.

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  16. Beautiful tribute, Tina. My dad was a veteran too, fibbing about his age and enlisting in the Army at 16 so he could serve in Korea. I can't even imagine. My uncle is a WWII veteran and I have several nephews and cousins who have also served recently--including one who helped with the clean-up in Japan after the tsunami. My respect and gratitude runs deeply for everyone who has served. Thanks for sharing. becky@animprobablelife.com

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