This year’s Veteran’s
Day Parade is on Saturday November 5 at 11 a.m. in Etna. The event is one way that we can
honor our family and neighbors who have secured our way of life through military service.
Veteran’s Day hits a personal chord for me, so I hope that you
will indulge a departure in this column from my ordinary dry writing style. When I think
of veteran’s, I think of my Dad. He is slowing down a bit at 86, but is still active
in a lay ministry and volunteer work at the local hospital where he and my mother live.
Dad joined the Navy as an apprentice seaman at the age of 21. By the
time he was 25, he had received a special promotion to Lt. Commander and was placed in
command of his own ship, the USS Acree, DE. I can only imagine the events that could have
caused such an accelerated maturity in a man so young. I remember when I was a girl and we
went to the beach, I could see the scar near his heart where he took a piece of shrapnel.
I know that similar stories could be told all over Siskiyou County of many young men who
went to war.
Dad was serving on the U.S.S. Nevada when Pearl Harbor launched us
into WWII. There were other places in the South Pacific with historic names like
Guadalcanal, Bougainville, the Truck Islands and Saipan. He also served in the North
Atlantic. He doesn’t talk much about his experiences in the service with all the
women in his family, but once every few years he goes back to the Washington D.C area to
visit with his crew. After 55 years, they still share a special bond. Dad has volunteered
to write their history.
In my own life, I was a young Navy wife stationed in Keflavik, Iceland.
I know that the families of service personnel have their own challenges and adventures. Siskiyou
County is the home to several families of active duty personnel. They do not have the
support of the services of a nearby military base and many reservists have had to make
drastic adjustments in salary income. Some could use a hand. If you would like to help,
the Red Cross in Yreka can point you in the right direction. It would be a wonderful way
to honor our troops.
As a member of the Scott Valley Quilter’s Guild, I am so proud
of all the wonderful ladies who have made quilts for our local guys and gals in the
service. In addition, these volunteers have made dozens of quilts for those who have been
wounded in action. It is so nice to live in a
community that shows its appreciation for the personal sacrifices that are being made
everyday to secure our freedom from world threats of terrorism.
To every veteran and every man and woman currently in the service, my
personal thanks. To those veterans of my own
generation, welcome home and thank you.
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