Lost my Dad this past weekend….83 years old and his body just finally gave out. My three brothers and Mom were with him and he went out pain-free with dignity.
Don’t want to belabor with details, but aside from being a great Dad, he was part of that Greatest Generation that struggled through the Great Depression, worked in the CCC camps and joined the Navy when the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor.
He was a tail-gunner on Grumman TBF torpedo planes and flew off of those little 400 foot Kaiser Carriers (Liberty ships converted to “Birdfarms”).
He flew aircover during the boarding and capture of the German submarine U-505 (Currently at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago) and at the end of the war, flew air cover and dropped rations to American POW’s in camps outside Tokyo.
He inspired me in many ways with his honesty and good humor and even temper. He was as patriotic for the USA as they come and when I came of age, serving my country in the military was a no-brainer.
We did a lot of fishing and hunting and backpacking in the mountains and the log and timber and stone building I prefer to do whenever I have the opportunity was inspired by his taking me to many of those alpine structures built in the mountains by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
It’s so appropriate that his memorial will be held Dec. 7th.
Thanks for everything, Dad!
Replies
Sorry to hear, sounds like a great man!
bake
Bury him with an achorn.
I don't mean that he was a nut but that symbolically he'll make the tree grow straight and true, like he did with you.
Sa-lute!
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Remeberence is 120% ahead of loss. Don't ever loose the memories and your obvious great loss will become the most wonderfull memory that you own. I think that I can easily speak for all when I offer our deepest sympathy.
Edited 11/27/2002 10:42:34 PM ET by no one
My deepest sympathies to you and family. As a member of my local VFW I look around at the guys at the monthly meetings and I see these dear old men of WWII. They are a dying breed and it saddens me to hear of the passing of another hero. You were fortunate to have such a man as a Father. Your words reflect much pride for the man.
On behalf of the members of Pvt. Adolf Block, Post #1305 VFW I salute him. "Don't take life too seriously, you are not getting out of it alive"
sorry to hear about your tragic loss. I lost my dad in may, 81 years old.miss him everyday. godbless.
framer
I'm sorry for your loss.
When the last one dies the revisionists will swarm the corpse of WW2 like vultures. We have to document and record history if we are to have anything left , beyond mythology and the ranting of madmen, to learn from. It is good that you know so much of his personal history and his place in the larger picture. A worthy legacy of a life well lived.
He sounded like he had a great life and a good death. In the end I hope I can do as well. Something for me to shoot for.
A couple of years ago, he lost most of his vision. I bought him a voice activated tape recorder and asked him to, as he felt like it, record his memories...nothing fancy, just stream of consciousness...I'd figure it out later.
Well, he was a little uneasy at first, but after while, got to where he really enjoyed it. I ended up with hours and hours of his voice telling me all the stories I'd heard before and a LOT more. It's great! I'll soon be getting the tapes converted to CD so I can share them with my brothers.
And the revisionists can eat #### as far as I'm concerned because I grew up surrounded with a lot of men like my Dad and I've got a REAL good handle on what they were and are about.
And to all that are responding here: Thanks for your sentiments, but I guess that part of what I wanted to convey here was alluded to by the VFW guy who spoke of these old guys who are falling one by one. It's my hope that what they faced as young men and what they were able to do and the sacrifices they made will never be forgotten.
I'm glad you had as much time as you did with an inspirational father.
The tape recorder was an inspired idea. I wish more of that got recorded. So many of that generation, and most vets, hold their memories too closely. The kids need to hear this stuff. Anything we can do for these guy in the way of gathering their stories and getting them help is OK by me.The same goes for the Korean campaign and Vietnam vets. The children need to hear from people who were there and not just the polished, John Wayne, versions. The good, bad, sorrows, regrets and suffering need to be recorded.
I have a Nam vet friend who was wounded six times in under two minutes but held his position and maintained covering fire so his buddies could fall back behind him. Funny how the human mind works. Despite commendations and great acclaim by the surviving men and a silver star from the pentagon he still regrets not doing enough to save the ones who didn't make it. He gets the most choked up when he talks about not comforting one of his buddies who snapped, broke down and curled up in a ball a few minutes into the ambush. I lost touch with him when he moved to California.I hope he, and all the other vets, are doing OK.
Remembered with high honor and respect is the best any of us can hope for. Your dad has that.
Salutations and praise this Thanksgiving.
The old breed , the ones I try hard to be like ,your father was my hero although I never met him , to him I wish " eternal peace"
Sorry to hear of your loss. Glad to hear that you were able to share so much time together before he passed on.
A father and his son... it's a realationship we as men can only descrbie. Some of us wish we were closer to our dads. Yet we all realize that they gave up a lot for us...as it sounds like your dad did for family and neighbor. Thanks for sharing with us.
My thoughts and prayers are with you. Know a little how you feel ........... lost my Mom Monday. I don't know how Dad deals with it .....they were married almost 53 years.
My heartfelt condolences. In my case, my Mom is bearing up really well. She was so frazzled the last few months trying to care for him that, when she saw him go peacefully, she, like the rest of us, felt relief.
I don't know who's best equipped to lose a longtime spouse, the husband or wife...depends on the situation, I guess.
For the near future, until she gets her bearings, my brothers and I are all making sure of frequent contact with Mom. We all live a couple hundred miles apart, with a mountain range between us, but if the roads are bad, Mom has a computer and she likes getting pics in her email.
The "Golden Years" are not always so golden.Jules Quaver for President 2004
It sounds like He lived a full life, full of life..At Darkworks cut to size made to burn......Putty isnt a option
So sorry for your loss, Notch. Mine only made it to 64. 6 years and I still miss him every day.
May you find peace. All the best. Greg.