Memorial Day

...and what are you doing today wherever you are? How many of you have Vets in your family. Care to share anything about them?

My great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. When a buddy was dying, he asked my great- grandfather to deliver a letter to his sister after the war. W.B. did so, on foot, as many ex-soldiers traveled after that war. They courted and married. Only later did he discover that the letter was indeed a 'letter of recommendation' that his sister marry W.B. if she could...that he was a good man. And so he was.


W.B. and Anne seated, to your left. Mother is the towhead. Taken by a roving photographer.

My cousin 20 years older fought in World War II. His ship was hit and schrapnel hit his head. My mother and aunt said he was never the same after. Hard to tell how much was that and how much was war. He was killed by a drunk driver when he was 26. The irony.


Dolph

My first husband was a junior officer on a supply ship off of Vietnam. They went up the river once and were shelled. Two men were killed and the ship badly battered. He came home safely and we married in Hawaii where I was already living and working. After two months he became restless, saying he didn't want to share his personal space with anyone but he'd made a vow and would keep it. Our marriage limped on for over five more years, but its death started that day. He meant what he said and never let me in emotionally again. The irony here is that I feel sure that deep inside he loved me for a long time, even after I finally left.


After the wedding in Hawaii