Memorial Day

My father with a member of Lima Company at the Worthington Memorial Day Parade in 2006:

Memorial day is always a special holiday for my family. In addition to its most important purpose of remembering the men and women who have given their lives for our country, Memorial Day is a time for family, cookouts and parades.

During the last few years Memorial Day has taken the added importance for me of spending time with my father who is a World War Two veteran. My father enlisted in the US Army in 1942 just a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After completing basic training he was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division in Europe. During the war he served under General George Patton in 4 different theatres including the Normandy Landing, the Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne and North Africa. After receiving the Distinguished Service Medal he was discharged from the Army in 1946. He continued to serve our country in the Army Reserves until the early 1960's.

Six years ago my father suffered a stroke which seriously impacted his ability to get around and to do many of the day to day activities most of us take for granted. However, some things the stroke did not take away are my father's patriotism and his encyclopedic memory of World War Two history.

This morning when it was time to roll down the street to watch Worthington's annual Memorial Day Parade dad said he would like to wear his military dress jacket. Mom wondered if it would fit but I was sure it would since dad has lost quite a bit of weight since his stroke. Sure enough it fit like it did the day he first reported for duty. I pinned a few of his medals on the jacket (Dad has more medals than we had time to pin on him) and we rolled down the street to the parade.

I was so proud of my father as one person after another came up to him at the parade to ask him where he served and to thank him for his service to our country. He is my hero for so many reasons in addition to the fact that he served our nation in its time of need. I hope everyone takes advantage of this special day to remember those individuals who are special to them. Happy Memorial Day!