  At last, the WWII Memorial On April 29, 2004 the urlLink World War II Memorial opened. Long overdue, this memorial is a tribute to all those who served and died during the second World War. Thousands of veterans will make the trek to Washington D.C. this weekend for the formal dedication on Saturday. I'm proud of my family's military history. As many of you know, I was born in Okinawa, Japan while my Dad served in the army. My Grandpa Roger (my Dad's father) served in the navy during both in World War II and the Korean War. Kedron's Dad served in the airforce stationed in Alaska during the Vietnam War. Ked's Grandpa Rhodes was career airforce and served in WWII and the Korean War. Ked's Grandpa Carr was stationed in Africa during the Korean War. As you can imagine these men have hundreds of stories. (Although my Dad worked in communications and he still says he can't tell me what he did or he'll have to kill me!!
=) As I've been hearing about the WWII Memorial's dedication on the news it prompted me to dig up a story my Grandma Louise (Dad's mother) wrote and shared with me while I was in college. There are thousands of stories like this out there about World War II. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, let's make it more than the sunrise of summer and the first barbecue.
Take a moment and remember all those who have given their lives across the ages serving our country so we can freely gather on weekends like these. And pray for the safe return of our men and women serving in the Middle East. ____________ The date was Dec 7, 1941. My sister and I were home alone when the news came over the radio (before the days of TV) that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by Japan. That meant we were at war. I was a freshman in high school at the time and my sister Betty was four years older than me.
I had no idea at the time what impact that news broadcast would have on our family. In addition to my parents and my sister Betty, I had three brothers, and we lived a quiet life on the farm. Dick, my middle brother, joined the army the following summer. We all went to visit him during basic training at Camp Perry. The following summer, 1943, my youngest brother Leonard joined the navy after graduating from high school. By now most young men were in service unless he was declared 4-F meaning he couldn't pass the physical. Others got a deferment for a critical war job. My oldest brother Bob, fell in the latter category. When his deferment ran out, he was drafted and left for service on Christmas Eve 1943. We all went to the station to wave him goodbye. The weather was nasty and slippery. Only a call from Uncle Sam would bring a person out that Christmas Eve. Bob went through boot camp then a shake down cruise with the ship he was assigned to, the Destroyer Meredith.
He came home on leave before leaving for whatever assignment laid ahead. By now it was spring of 1944 and I was getting ready to graduate from high school. Bob bought me a black Parker fountain pen for my graduation gift. As he walked toward the front door, he said his last goodbye, cried, and said that he wouldn't be coming back. At that moment it didn't leave much impact on me because I knew he wasn't as eager to go off to service as my other brothers. Three weeks later, in the middle of the night, there was a knock at the door. My dad asked who was there. The reply was "It's Western Union with a telegram from the War Department. " Mom and Dad went downstairs immediately. I remember laying in bed, not wanting to know which one of my brothers the telegram brought news of.
When I did go downstairs, the news was about Bob. His first trip out took him directly to the Normandy Invasion in the English Channel on June 6, 1944. His Destroyer was hit on the morning of June 8 and he was killed in action. My thoughts went back to the last time I saw him only a few weeks earlier and the statement he made as he said goodbye. I still have and cherish my fountain pen. My other brothers returned home safely. 
