My father passed away on this day, February 11th, 2009.
I find it difficult to believe that his passing occurred two years ago.
My wife and I received the call from my brother a short time after 3:30 in the morning — when my father had died.
I thought that the pain would gradually go away and, to a degree, it has.
Yet, on the other hand, his passing is as fresh to me now as then.
He was a member of The Greatest Generation. Those who made so many major sacrifices for our great nation, kept us safe in our beds, and kept the country uninvaded. Their incredible sacrifices. Though they didn’t necessarily want to do so. He fought in B-17s. He trained in B-25s. It was almost the perfect triumvirate: his brother Jim signed up for the Army; his youngest brother Bill enlisted in the Navy (and had the USS Yorktown sink underneath him). My father went for the Army Air Force.
If you want to digest the quintessential document of sacrifice, read “With The Old Breed” by Eugene B. Sledge. Astounding. Simply astounding. Or perhaps the superior (but lesser read) Bert Stiles book: “Serenade To The Big Bird.”
They didn’t want to be there, they feared, they wanted to run away. And yet they persevered.
God bless you, Dad.
I think about you every day.
And I write this post through a film of tears. My throat constricts. I still miss you terribly.
You would have been 91 this year.
BZ
[Both photos are not prototypical; they are of my father as an instructor, and in flight school. Click photos to expand. -BZ]
BZ:
I feel your pain and share in your loss. A son’s love for his father NEVER fades. He is proud of you, your accomplishments and of who you have become; and is smiling down upon you everyday.
God bless, my friend.
My dad (b. 1911) passed away in 1998.
I still miss him so much!
BZ, when we lose our parents, we never really get over that loss.
Having lost my Mother just a couple days ago, I understand your sorrow. Your father was a great American and true citizen.
Time does fly doesn’t it? I can’t believe that in a little over a week my father will have been paralyzed for 3 years.
It’s a loss that we never forget, thanks for sharing him with us!
I am so terribly for your loss, I cannot even begin to imagine your pain.
He sounds like a was a wonderful man.
Beautifully said, BZ. I almost feel like I knew him myself. You are so right that his was the greatest generation. Part of the evidence for this is they laid the groundwork for the freedoms we still enjoy today, & these freedoms have stood under even the foolishness we see in leadership today & the last almost 20 years now. I am not able to say what’s in my heart to you BZ, so I’ll just end with Psalm 116:15. God Bless you, BZ.
I just reread the letter that your grandfather sent your father while he was serving our country. Just a very moving letter and what a gift for a son to receive from his father.
Prayerfully,
Bubbles
I completely understand your emotions. What pride we have in the lives our Fathers lived. So often I find myself thinking “Dad would have enjoyed that” and smile, knowing how he lives in my memories.
How fortunate we were to have been born the sons of such men!
Shoprat: I am very sorry to hear of that, sir. My sincere condolences.
Bubbles: that was an exquisite letter, was it not?
Greybeard: so correct; fortunate indeed.
BZ
May he rest in peace.
Follow his good example and you shall do well in life.