Greys & Things

I would like to say thank you to all our veterans and their families.

I am thinking of my Dad today.  He was a veteran.  My Dad died suddenly when I was 22.  It was just 9 months after I married.  He laid down to take a nap and never woke up.  I am not exactly sure what caused his death.  We didn’t have an autopsy done. He had a few mild heart attacks previously, so maybe that’s what caused it.

I feel bad because I didn’t really know my Dad as a person.  I become interested in geneology several years ago and I have learned more about my Dad through that then when he was alive.  Isn’t that terrible?  What is really odd is the day before he died I was at work and someone asked me about my Dad and his military experience.  I told them that I really didn’t know and I probably should ask him.  He died before I could have that conversation.

As I am typing this, I have his military records spread out in front of me.  He served in the Air Force from 1946 to 1949.  He was called back and served from 1950 to 1951 in the Korean War.  He was a control tower operator.  He received the WW2 Victory Medal.

After leaving the military, my Dad married.  He worked on the railroad for a little while.  I’m not sure what he did.  I do remember that he used to tell me he would buy dinner for guys at White Castle and the burgers were $.05 each.  Can you imagine what he would think of their prices now?  He worked at General Motors for 29 years and was 9 months away from retirement when he died.

In February, my Dad will be gone for 22 years which is half my life.  It’s hard to believe.  I still think about him every day and especially today as we remember all the veterans.