They were soldiers once...
And young.
50 years after the event, and there they are, rushing across the field where so many of their comrades died, for the benefit of the camera. And they look like they're having a good time, in that perverse way that many who've never seen the elephant don't understand.
And it's simple. They remember the good. The Cause. The bond of brothers-in-arms. A bond of an intensity that rivals and can exceed marriage.
The Auld Soldier, when he retired, put away many things military. He kept an intellectual interest, to be sure, and his closest friends were a retired Marine Colonel and retired Navy Captain. But a couple of years ago, he attended a reunion of the battalion he commanded in Vietnam.
He came back uplifted and energized. I really wish I had gone with him. If duty allows, I will go to the next reunion of the Regiment, because I.want.the.stories that he never told. An abiding sorrow with his passing was the fact we were negotiating him writing his Korea, Vietnam, and funny peacetime stories.
When I finally figured out his passwords and got into his computer to rescue data from his Rotary responsibilities - I found two documents he had started the week before he took ill.
Damn entropy, anyway.
And young.
50 years after the event, and there they are, rushing across the field where so many of their comrades died, for the benefit of the camera. And they look like they're having a good time, in that perverse way that many who've never seen the elephant don't understand.
And it's simple. They remember the good. The Cause. The bond of brothers-in-arms. A bond of an intensity that rivals and can exceed marriage.
The Auld Soldier, when he retired, put away many things military. He kept an intellectual interest, to be sure, and his closest friends were a retired Marine Colonel and retired Navy Captain. But a couple of years ago, he attended a reunion of the battalion he commanded in Vietnam.
He came back uplifted and energized. I really wish I had gone with him. If duty allows, I will go to the next reunion of the Regiment, because I.want.the.stories that he never told. An abiding sorrow with his passing was the fact we were negotiating him writing his Korea, Vietnam, and funny peacetime stories.
When I finally figured out his passwords and got into his computer to rescue data from his Rotary responsibilities - I found two documents he had started the week before he took ill.
Damn entropy, anyway.
You'll hear the stories of the Auld Soldier that the Auld Soldier wouldn't tell you, and you'll hear the stories that he *would* have, but didn't.
You may hear enough to fill out that which he had intended to be read, and present that to his comrades at the reunion after next...
Go, and tell the stories your Dad never told you. Someone has to be the storyteller, lest the stories be forgotten.
You will be alive and your father's life will touch you.
It would probably be nice to load it up to Blogspot like that person did with the WWI soldier's letters.
Somewhat interesting as he was at Amchitka AK doing survey work, not in Korea.
He couldn't really talk about it until after the Long Shot, Milrow, and Cannikin AEC tests were completed in the late 60's early 70's.
We did get stories from my mother's father about his time in the Meuse-Argonne during WWI and he had a pair of ledger sized books of photograph plates to back the tale in a Matthew Brady dead bodies kind of way. Too bad his records burned in the St Louis NPRC fire of 1973. It would have been nice to know more of what really happened, not just his stories.
What also helps in the process of getting the stories pulled out is to take the personnel file and go through that a half dozen times, looking for every clue to locations, dates, etc., then dig around on the web until you can match units to events, etc. We once found a picture of my father-in-law in an old National Geographic from when he was at the South Pole. The best part, though, as I've written before is what I learned about what was happening at the time. Reading about the battles, the places, the ships, the people, and trying to place my FiL in the proper context taught me a great deal. It is well worth the effort, even if it is bittersweet....
Any suggestions?
National Archives is always keen for new stuff, and the Smithsonian too, but is more selective, and of course, local historical societies and unit associations. Try asking around at the local VFW or contact the Navy historical office to see what they might be interested in.... There is a really decent Navy history site www.history.navy.mil that has a great many pics of ships, etc. They would certainly be able to point you the right way....