Sunday, June 23, 2013

TITLE - WHY VETS SAY LITTLE TO FAMILY I recently returned from a Squadron Reunion in Norfolk, Virginia. We used to be a Hunter-Killer Air Group on the Carrier Essex in the Atlantic Fleet, formed in May 1960. I'm a 20th Century guy, whose best days are back several decades. I can focus, hear and see pretty well, and remember the skills that served me and our family well. I answered the call to military service over 60 years ago, and still volunteer for causes that count. In the news and entertainment media I hear and see that "Veterans keep quiet" about their wartime episodes. Children and spouses, grandchildren, wish that Dad/Gramps had told them what he did when he served. I have been reluctant to continue telling my sea stories when listeners have tuned out and need to be about their urgent lives. It is when old shipmates find each other at reunions that we can speak freely - even about events that went unmentioned at the time, so long past. Accidents, mistakes, deaths, crash landings, awards. You want to know what Dad did, and what motivated him? Find the time together. Ask him now. It's that simple.

1 comment:

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