For Memorial Day evening, I'd like to tell you about my grandfather.
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For Memorial Day evening, I'd like to tell you about my grandfather.
He was an Army pilot during WWII. He did not die in battle, but later committed suicide.
After his passing, my grandmother received a letter from President Ronald Reagan, acknowledging my grandfather's "exceptional service to the United States".
Grandpa never talked about WWII. He was clearly glad to leave those memories behind.
We (the family) never knew what prompted the President to hand sign a letter of thanks to his widow.
That was 1988, and we still don't know.
#fallenheroes #memorialday
#usarmyaircorps #WWIII #ronaldreaganpresidency
#familyhistorymysteries -
For Memorial Day evening, I'd like to tell you about my grandfather.
He was an Army pilot during WWII. He did not die in battle, but later committed suicide.
After his passing, my grandmother received a letter from President Ronald Reagan, acknowledging my grandfather's "exceptional service to the United States".
Grandpa never talked about WWII. He was clearly glad to leave those memories behind.
We (the family) never knew what prompted the President to hand sign a letter of thanks to his widow.
That was 1988, and we still don't know.
#fallenheroes #memorialday
#usarmyaircorps #WWIII #ronaldreaganpresidency
#familyhistorymysteries@Skwerlgyrl That's so touching. So many veterans suffer terribly, and in silence, after their service. I'm sorry your grandfather was one of them.
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@Skwerlgyrl That's so touching. So many veterans suffer terribly, and in silence, after their service. I'm sorry your grandfather was one of them.
Thanks so much. Apparently he was a tough father. My father always felt that he somehow never quite measured up to Grandpa's expectations. Then I was born, and Grandpa softened up a bit. Gradually my father began to develop a better relationship with his father, and then suddenly, he was gone.
My observation from all this is: war claims so many lives, in so many heartbreaking ways.
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He was a pilot in the Euopean theater. That is all we may ever know.
Grandma utterly adored him, and from her stories of their life together (before having children) I think anybody would have. He was handsome, charming, with a playful sense of humor, and a natural knack for fixing almost anything with moving parts.
Grandma was model-pretty and had lived a sheltered life, even during the Great Depression. She came from money and could have her pick of any suitor in the city, but she fell for Grandpa, and thus married below her station. Her mother wasn't having it, and cut Grandma off.
But she married right, because Grandpa adored her, and treated her like his own, personal princess. His military experience and understanding of mechanics earned him a good job as a blueprint architect, designing some of the most expensive homes on the best streets in town. He made a good enough living to buy a small home in a new neighborhood, and raise a family.
And they lived there in that "starter home" together until long after the kids had moved out and had kids of their own. According to Grandma, they never had a single fight, although sometimes one or the other might grumble a bit.
And then suddenly, he was gone.
Grandma never recovered, and I guess that's completely understandable. She just slowly lost her mind, and refused to care fot her body, until there was nothing left. She died of natural causes, in a memory care home.
I like to think, as Grandma often openly wished, that her soul transferred to heaven, to be reunited with the one and only love of her life.
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He was a pilot in the Euopean theater. That is all we may ever know.
Grandma utterly adored him, and from her stories of their life together (before having children) I think anybody would have. He was handsome, charming, with a playful sense of humor, and a natural knack for fixing almost anything with moving parts.
Grandma was model-pretty and had lived a sheltered life, even during the Great Depression. She came from money and could have her pick of any suitor in the city, but she fell for Grandpa, and thus married below her station. Her mother wasn't having it, and cut Grandma off.
But she married right, because Grandpa adored her, and treated her like his own, personal princess. His military experience and understanding of mechanics earned him a good job as a blueprint architect, designing some of the most expensive homes on the best streets in town. He made a good enough living to buy a small home in a new neighborhood, and raise a family.
And they lived there in that "starter home" together until long after the kids had moved out and had kids of their own. According to Grandma, they never had a single fight, although sometimes one or the other might grumble a bit.
And then suddenly, he was gone.
Grandma never recovered, and I guess that's completely understandable. She just slowly lost her mind, and refused to care fot her body, until there was nothing left. She died of natural causes, in a memory care home.
I like to think, as Grandma often openly wished, that her soul transferred to heaven, to be reunited with the one and only love of her life.
@Skwerlgyrl @maxelcat Theirs sounds like a sweet love story.
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