Thursday, May 21, 2015

Family in the Military





Some names and faces that perhaps have parallels within your own:


Bob 

Ken

Lewis

Morris

Wade



Jack, on left, the immigrant's son, in WWI


Sam

Jack



Worth and Daughter 1945


Billy
Phil, second from right,front row. Many years after Khe Sanh


Den in his first uniform 1943.
(Yes, his hair is long.  Read blogpost "Shave and a Haircut".)
Picture of him in Saigon is MIA

Den with wife and first child, 1970


"Battle of Fort Jackson" 1962

Memorial Day . . . it conjures all kinds of imagery and memories.  In more recent times, it is taken as the unofficial beginning of Summer . . . 'the Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer'.  This weekend will be filled with cookouts, large retail salestravaganza's, ballgames, trips to the beach; for many, a time not to have to report to 'the job'.

    Those kinds of events, however, do not lie at the origins of Memorial Day.  Wikipedia has a good account of the origins on the observance.  A key distinction is made between Memorial Day which is for persons who died while serving and Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day, November 11) which is set aside for recognition of all who served in the military.

    During World War II, I learned a new term, "Gold Star Mother" . . . for those women who had had children to die while on active duty.  Our family experienced such a loss.  I have written on an earlier post ("For Whom the Bell Tolls") about the death of my Uncle Bob in a B-29 crash in 1944.  Soon thereafter, a small flag appeared in my grand-parents' window with three stars, one for each of their sons in the military.  Two stars were white, the other, gold.

    As Memorial Day approached, I was reminded again of that post and from that I remembered that several other members of our family have spent time in uniform . . . some in harm's way; others, like myself, not so. Still, it was time away from our civilian lives given, we believed, for a high purpose. . . being prepared to protect and defend our country.  Since it is still six months or so until November and Veterans' Day, I decided to proceed naming my relatives who have served.  (I need to note that there were many others, like my dad and younger brother, who were willing to serve but were disqualified when they failed the physical exam.)

    Mom had three brothers  on active duty during World War II.  In addition to Bob, there was Ken who enlisted in the Navy after his brother's death and was deployed to the Pacific, notably to Guam. Lewis was in the Aleutian Islands. There is somewhere a newspaper clipping with a photograph of him and his squad on patrol duty, guarding against possible Japanese incursions.  Additionally, her brother-in-law, Morris, was deployed to Newfoundland.  Uncle Wade served stateside.

    At least one of my paternal grand-father's siblings, Jack, was in World War I.  In the 1950's, two of dad's siblings ... Sam and Jack  (the namesake) . . . were in the Army.  After the above picture was made, Uncle Sam ( I have a real 'Uncle Sam') earned a commission and completed his stint as an officer.  Jack told me of his experience when in Basic Training of having his officer brother visit him, to the amazement of his friends who saw him enjoying a conversation with an officer.  Jack spent some of his enlistment in Germany.

     My wife's father,Worth, served in the Navy in World War II.  My brother-in-law, Billy, served three years in the US Army, much of that time in Germany during the 1970's.

    Two family members were in Vietnam. Lewis's son, Phil, my cousin, was a medic and was wounded at the Battle of Khe Sanh. My brother, Dennis, spent time as an Orthopedic Surgeon at Saigon General Hospital during that time and was promoted to Major prior to his discharge. They both saw some horrendous stuff.

   I am somewhat embarrassed to speak of my military experience within the context of those named here.  I passed the Air Force Officer Training School Exam and Navigator Exam only to flunk the physical exam the following day.  "You could have eye surgery and try again later", the examiner told me.  I decided not to have a scapel (or whatever instrument might be used) for this procedure with unknown outcomes.  So, in 1962, I enlisted in the Reserves with an Army Aviation company.  After basic training, I did  OJT in aircraft dispatch.  Within a month of my leaving active duty, my outfit, the only Army Aviation company in the state, was dissolved and the men reassigned. There being no aircraft to dispatch, I was placed on Inactive Duty which meant no weekly drills,no two-week Summer camp.  It was a total  fluke.

    Perhaps the time for a universal military draft has long since passed. While I hardly consider myself a "Hawk", I am grateful for the service of these other men pictured above.
Many families had variations of this same story. Recently I saw statistics of US casualties in each conflict since World War I. Whether it's Memorial Day or Veterans' Day, the issue is not to glorify war but appreciation for those who served.

     Satchel (E-1)


    

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