A Memorial To My Dad

May 2004, just a week before the WW II Memorial in Washington D.C. was to be dedicated, I took my Dad down to see it. At 85, he was a little unsure on his feet so I borrowed a wheelchair so I could push him around the Mall. My Dad was excited to be going and was even looking forward to the ride in on the D.C. Metro.

It was one of those perfect May days; bright sun, warm and not a cloud in the sky. On top of the perfect day we had a perfect tour guide with us. My friend Tom knew the Washington D.C. landmarks well, and ever the teacher, would regale us with bits of history and trivia that we weren’t aware of.

A little about my Dad: Born in St Louis, Missouri on November 7, 1918, he was drafted into the Army soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The buildup to D-Day was in full gear, although as my Dad would say many years later, that no one knew the extent of the Normandy invasion because it was kept so secret, for obvious reasons. From APG, my Dad was transferred to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina for further training and then to Ft. Dix for processing before being shipped out to Iceland from the Port of New York. His MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), that he was assigned to, was ordnance supply and specifically ammunition. He thought that he was placed there because he had worked in a car repair garage prior to being drafted and the Army thought that he had some mechanical ability. That the Army recognized this in my Dad was a benefit to both him and the Army. Continue reading A Memorial To My Dad