A LINK TO MY FATHER

First of all, NO, I haven't given up on the blog. With both of us working 40+ hours a week, there simply isn't anything new to write about. I suspect that will pretty much be the case for the next couple of months, until we leave the canyon in early September.

One of the projects that I've had in the back of my mind for several years, has been to get my fathers military record, and put together a shadow box, commemorating his service during World War II. The only information that was ever passed down to me, was that he enlisted in the Coast Guard, and served in the South Pacific during the later years of the war. I didn't know what his rank was, or what medals he earned. I had been given a small banner with the name U.S.S. Celtic, and always assumed that was the ship he served on. I also have a large document that my son Marc had framed, that commemorates my dads crossing of the international date line on the ship, the U.S.C.G.C. Hermes. Those are the only two tangible pieces of evidence in my possession from his military service. I can remember my Grandmother, (his mom), saying on many occasions, that he survived several South Pacific battles during the war, only to be killed on a highway, in a motor vehicle accident.

I first tried to find his military record on the Internet, but ran into several roadblocks. What I did find out was a way to request a hard copy of his military record (DD214). I printed out the form, filled in as many blanks as I could, and sent it along with $20 to the military archives division in St. Louis. A few weeks ago, two copies of his DD214 arrived in the mail, and I began to put together an order with Medals of America, a company that specializes in all things related to the military. The shadow box and all of the medals, plaques, patches, and medallion showed up a few days ago.

Yesterday, I put it all together, and the pictures reflect the finished product. When we get home, this display will hang next to mine, and will be a reminder of a small part of my fathers life, that due to tragic circumstances, I was never able to be involved.

Even though at the time I got drafted into the Army in 1966, I wasn't overly enthusiastic about serving in the military, I can now say that I'm proud of my service, and proud that both of my sons, Mike and Marc served honorably in the Army. The fact that Mike retired as a Chief Warrant Officer just adds to the tradition of my families military service.

My father enlisted in the Coast Guard when he had just turned 17, entering the military on October 22, 1943. He was honorably discharged after the war on April 2, 1946, and he and my mother were killed in an auto accident in mid December of the same year. He was only a few months over the age of 20 when he died, and my mom was only 18. Now that I have his military record, and this display, one more small part of the puzzle is now in place.