That's my grandfather in about 1941, soon after he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy. He then married my grandmother, settled her in to a cottage in Florida, and headed off to war. Remember when people didn't question what was right? Me neither, but I wish I did.
That's him in pilot training, I think. He served as a fighter pilot on the U.S.S. Essex in the Pacific. Can you imagine the cajones it took to hop into a little plane and fly off the end of a hunk of metal into battle in 1942? To land a 1940's era airplane on an aircraft carrier? He was once shot down over the Pacific and MIA. He came out and went right back into battle. No counseling, no hazardous pay, no wanking, no suing the plane manufacturer. He never talked about the war, he just fought it.
These are some of the medals he earned in his years as a Navy pilot:
After the Navy he never flew a plane again. He went home to his sweetheart, made a good living, and raised three kids, then raised five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He never caused a ruckus. Never lied, cheated or stole. Never complained. He had integrity and was an altogether great man. He was the Little League coach who always let you play. The man who built a tree house in that big oak in the yard. Who made 12 pairs of stilts out of old lumber so all the grandkids could walk tall at once. Who helped get hundreds of fruit flies for an 8th grade science project. The man who never told a joke but was always tossing out dry one-liners that only the smart folks catch. Who imparted his love af nature and learning on me. Who called trash "rubbish" and talked with a funny New England accent.
Enough of the sentimental stuff. I just thought I should memorialize him and let a few people know that the world just lost another great one.
6 comments:
That was a very nice Memorial Glib.
Sorry about your loss.
Glib - What a wonderful tribute! He seems like he would have been an amazing man to know. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.
I'd like to say the same, but I rarely pray, and when I do there is a pretty long list of my own crap to put on the table. I guess I could just give lip service but that ain't right either.
As for your tribute, I like the way you went about it, a lot. The men and women from that era are indeed living longer, but it seems like their last five years of their lives is carried on by piss and vinegar exclusively. That was a tough breed, one to look back on for inspiration for sure.
-buzz
that was a fantastic memorial. Sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you were able to know, love, respect and keep his memory alive.
It looks like his medal board is right, too. A lot of the vets dumped their ribbons into drawers and lost them. Or they never were formally issued, or any of several other possibilities. The laws of probability suggest he might be missing a couple of lesser medals and service stars. If you are interested you (using your grandmother) can follow up to double-check. Yes, another great man down; and slim pickings coming through the pipeline. Regards . . .
The real anonymous has a point. I recently researched all of my gran-dad's medals and found that he was missing a couple from his tatered collection as well.
-buzz
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