Today is Veterans Day, a humble day full of gratitude for my family, and I am sure for your family too. My grandfather served in WWII, he has many horrible memories, memories he will not share. But when I asked him why he did it he said, "for the family, to preserve the country and the family unit." This was not the answer I expected, I expected something more along the lines that he had to, that the country forced him to. But, I was wrong, he and the men he served with and knew did it out of love for their families and country.
I can not imagine going through what these men and women went through, it is inconceivable. To look at the photos he brought home is hard enough let alone having to see it first hand, in reality. My grandpa was one of the few men that could drive, so he was in charge of driving one of the jeeps, mostly driving the commanders around. One of the problems with this job was that the roads would have hidden wires strung across them, you could not see the wires while driving (as intended) and you could easily run into them, decapitating the passengers. After awhile the jeeps were outfitted with wire-cutters near the windshield to help save lives.
While grandpa was away at war grandma stayed home to raise the new baby, the women had to pull together and become a team. My grandma lived with her mom and sister. Her mom would spend the day out helping the sick and weary, her sister went to work every day for money for living expenses and grandma stayed home to take care of the home and babies. They lost a brother and many others during the war, but they were grateful their husbands made it home safely.
One of our favorite stories, one that my grandpa loves to tell is one day while in Germany, he was walking down the street and saw a figure that seemed familiar, he kept looking while walking closer to this gentleman, the gentleman was doing the same. After a few seconds he realized it was his brother! They saw each other and ran towards each other and embraced (just like a movie) neither one of them knew where the other was serving... what are the chances, and what a great reunion that day!
A humble thank you to all of you who have served our country, we love you!
I can not imagine going through what these men and women went through, it is inconceivable. To look at the photos he brought home is hard enough let alone having to see it first hand, in reality. My grandpa was one of the few men that could drive, so he was in charge of driving one of the jeeps, mostly driving the commanders around. One of the problems with this job was that the roads would have hidden wires strung across them, you could not see the wires while driving (as intended) and you could easily run into them, decapitating the passengers. After awhile the jeeps were outfitted with wire-cutters near the windshield to help save lives.
While grandpa was away at war grandma stayed home to raise the new baby, the women had to pull together and become a team. My grandma lived with her mom and sister. Her mom would spend the day out helping the sick and weary, her sister went to work every day for money for living expenses and grandma stayed home to take care of the home and babies. They lost a brother and many others during the war, but they were grateful their husbands made it home safely.
One of our favorite stories, one that my grandpa loves to tell is one day while in Germany, he was walking down the street and saw a figure that seemed familiar, he kept looking while walking closer to this gentleman, the gentleman was doing the same. After a few seconds he realized it was his brother! They saw each other and ran towards each other and embraced (just like a movie) neither one of them knew where the other was serving... what are the chances, and what a great reunion that day!
A humble thank you to all of you who have served our country, we love you!
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