In Canada, they call it Remembrance Day. In the U.S., they call it Veterans’ Day. For both countries (and many other countries), it is simply about honoring those who have served their country and protecting its rights. We would like to take a little time to honor some family members who committed themselves to serving their countries.

Lelia

My father was in the Army Reserves and could have been called to war, though he was not. He has told me before of how he was a cook in the army – and of the power that gave him when people were being jerks. You certainly don’t mess with the people who are responsible for feeding you!

My great-uncle graduated from West Point and was a veteran of three wars. I didn’t know him well, but he was always very kind whenever I spoke with him. He has passed away, but I remember the gravity of the military service at his funeral and appreciate the young people who were present in uniform to honor him.

My grandfather served in World War II, and he was a POW from March 11, 1943, to May 4, 1945. My favorite story about him was from when he was a POW (a “Kriegie”) in Poland at Christmastime. The winters were very cold, and the Kriegies faced a steady diet of German black bread and cabbage soup. They were cooped up and living on dreams. During the week of Christmas, some of the Kriegies who had been there longer received packages (which took months to get to them), but a young man who had only been there for 6 months received no such package, as he was too “new.” However, on Christmas morning, the young man discovered a chocolate bar under his pillow. It was the best thing he ever tasted after talking about sweets for months. The young man knew it was my grandfather who gave him the chocolate bar, but my grandfather continued to deny it. Talk about showing the spirit of Christmas! I know I would have been hard-pressed to give up something so precious to someone else. My grandfather died when I was nine, and I didn’t really spend much one-on-one time with him, but I think the kind of man he was is demonstrated by this story of what he did during what must have been one of the hardest times of his life.

I know it takes a strong commitment to give years of your life over to your country and risk finding yourself in such a terrible situation, and I appreciate the effort that is involved.

Jann and Colin

Our father served in the South Pacific as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. His older brother, Sam, had enlisted, and our father was compelled to do his duty as well, so he took himself down to the recruiting office and attempted to enlist. The problem, though, was his age–or lack of such. He was only fifteen at the time, although he swore up and down that he was well past sixteen. Unfortunately, the man at the recruitment office didn’t believe him and told him to get lost! If it had not been for Uncle Sam, he would not have been accepted, but Sam was present on his second attempt and vouched for his little brother.

The war in that theater was rough on everyone, friend and foe, and our father rarely talked about his experiences. When asked, he would usually either say nothing or decline the request with the excuse, quite reasonable as we have come to appreciate, that he preferred to keep those memories buried. Only once did we hear of him saying anything more than a few words on the subject, and we weren’t there to hear. According to one of our brothers, Rob, he and our father were watching The Green Berets, probably because our dad was a huge John Wayne fan.

Rob says he happened to glance over at our father during a particularly intense part of the show to see tears on his cheeks. At the end of the movie, all he said was that some of the scenes in the movie took him back to his WWII service.

Our father was a wonderful man and a fantastic father, and we miss him.