Roy E. Anderson, U.S.A.F.
Because my grandfather served in the air force, when I was 8 I got to do what all girl 8-year-old descendants of military personnel were asked to do, and are still asked to do, in my hometown every spring: wear a white dress and hold red flowers for Memorial Day.
American Legion Poppy Girl -- 1981, Cando (N.D.) Public School
3 comments:
Distinguished-looking man, Karin. Paternal grandfather was a WWI veteran: First Cavalry Division (with real horses). Maternal grandfather was 4F for WWII (punctured ear drums), but helped construct engines for B-17's and B-24's at the GE plant in Lynn. Your grandfather may have flown in a plane whose engines my grandfather built. Cool. Just paid my respects to the former this p.m.
My grandpa (about 25 y-old in this photo) died in June 2000 of acute-onset leukemia One of the last things he said was to my uncle Pat who was by his bedside: "You're a gentleman and a scholar, and there aren't many of us left." He was indeed both of those things. I often forget he was a soldier, too.
The Greatest Generation, since the Civil War, indeed. Many of my maternal great-uncles went "over there" in WWII--mostly the Pacific. The stories they told about their war experiences, and surviving the Depression, before their passsings still astound me upon reflection: the failing of banks, the Pacific, Iwo Jima. Wow. They were giants, and I miss them and their wisdom. We need them today.
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