HarnZblogger

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is a very special day -- Armistice Day or Veteran's day as we know it now. And its 11 -11- 11. Growing up I always remember going with our grandfather's to special memorial ceremonies -- 3 generations to remember our fallen heros. Maybe that is why its so important to me. My favorite Veteran of course is my Dad. After the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7th, he finished up his semester at Notre Dame and he and his brother Mike signed up for the Army. He was a specialist on "bombs" -- detonating them. ( There is a title to this but I forgot what it was for now). But then since he had had so much experience with cars when he was a teenager, driving since he was 14, he ended up in the 17th port Transportation Corp. It is here that he excelled as a leader in support for the battles of DDay to Battle of the Bulge and more. In January 1945 in was in Ghent Belgium to unload the ships for support for the Battle of the Bulge. Here in met our Mom on May 6 1945. -- VE day in Belgium, before the official one. More of this story is on his web site at www.louschirm3.com

Anyway, I came across something I wrote Nov. 11, 2001 after visiting the Veteran's home in Yountville Napa Valley for the first time. Here it is. I am sharing it with my blogger family.

On this day I was visiting Dad, and I want to remember some events of that day . We went to the Veterans Hospital, where Dad was thinking of going. It was hard to figure out where it was, and it was raining, but we finally got to the right place. These are some of my impressions.

First, there was a wonderful procession of the color guard. One Soldier went forward - one for each areas of our armed forces. Every one who was able was asked to stand. I saw very very old men stand at the presentation of the colors. One gentleman could barely hold himself up. And he stood the whole time. We said the pledge of allegiance and then we sang the National Anthem. I had a hard time because I was choking up, and tears running down my face. I saw what it meant to love your country. There was then an invocation to our Lord - a very thoughtful prayer of recognition of God’s presence.

Then they addressed a table that was set right near us - under the Mia and POW flag. It had 6 spaces, one for each branch of the forces. Empty to represent the missing men. It was round to represent everlasting life and white for purity of motives. When the young man joins he joins because his motives are true and pure. There was a singe red rose in a vase with a red ribbon tied around it. ( it think for the missing who have their lives but are not forgotten ) and lemon slices for bitterness: Salt -- a pinch of it for tears and a Bible for faith in “One nation under God”. Wow!! I was really impressed. Then the other table near us got up. One man in uniform representing each of our forces and put a hat down on the table in each of the missing places.

Different people spoke: a senator, a Major and a General. One said “Freedom isn’t free” . I believe that is a quote originally from Roosevelt. How the younger generations need to understand this and live it.

One of the most special times of this day was this:

I met Veteran named Homer Fisher who is 103 and was a WW1 Veteran. I took a picture of this guy. ( hmm where is it now?) He was a very humble man. He lived to 108 at the Vet Home in Yountville. He was one of the last remaining WW1 vets of that time.

We also toasted and had a moment of silence with everyone in the room. AT 11-11—o1. That is the official time of the Armistice. On 11—11. And they observed this that day also. Dad and I sat at a table with a young lady who had volunteered from Chico State to come down and visit the Veterans. She explained that her History teacher had them serve the Vets to learn their stories and report what they learn back to the classroom. They were spending the whole weekend at the Vet home serving in many ways. Also, they said every Vet received a letter from the kids saying thank you for serving our country. Every Vet in the Home. Over 1100 Men and women.

I found this in my journal notes, as I was thinking about my Dad today, I remembered back to this day, and the other Veteran’s days I spent in Napa. Thank you Dad for teaching us to love our country and to honor those who have served us in the Armed forces.

Happy Veteran's Day! Remember those soldiers who are serving us now, putting their lives on the line each day.

To cousin Charlie in the air force, flying our soldiers home, we all salute you. We are so proud of you.