Let me start by saying that I often get great ideas and never follow up on them. It's probably my greatest weakness that I need to improve. This one is going to happen though because I have enlisted outside help.
I had an epiphany for a great father's day present this week. My father is known for only wanting shirts or slacks for presents. He has little time to read books and his CD requests are small. DVDs often sit unopened, as he'll just watch something on TV instead. For years now, I've been scheming of presents that he will enjoy. Two years ago for Christmas, it finally worked. My mother gave me all of my great-grandfather's tools to clean up. I gave them to my father and you could tell that even though it cost me nothing but time, it was important to him SO, here's my next idea:
With the help of a colleague, we're going to put together a decent size shadow box that focuses on my Grandfather's time during WWII. In the center of the box will be a raised picture of him in his uniform. To the sides will be smaller pictures of him as well as all of his medals, patches, buttons, pins, etc. I have high hopes for it and will put a digital picture up of the finished product.
As mentioned in an earlier post, my Grandfather died when my father was my age, 29. He never really had the chance to know him like a son should know his father. We've often talked about all the questions we would ask him if he were still alive, most of them about his WWII experience. I was watching POV on PBS this past Sunday night and it was about a girl who was born while her father was stationed in Vietnam. He was able to meet her and her mother for a week or two in Hawaii; she was only a few months old. A few days after returning to Vietnam, he was killed. Around the age of 29, she decided to do a documentary of her trying to find out who her father was. She interviewed all of the surviving members of her father's platoon and his friends. It sparked a thought, is there anyone still alive that knew my Grandfather during WWII? Can I track them down in time, or is it too late? Has that opportunity passed? It's been 59 years since the end of WWII, putting most survivors into their 70s. It's still something I want to pursue.
My aunt and I were talking this weekend and something she said really resonated with me, "We often wait until it is too late to learn things about our family. Instead of asking questions when we are young and they are alive, we want to ask them after they have passed on." And it's true; it leaves us looking for answers in pictures, journals, books, etc. I found myself digging through this old trunk my great-uncle made, packed full of newspapers, photo albums, and everything from my paternal grandparents that my dad could keep, wondering why all these great family treasures are tucked away.
Every family has its great stories, whether they are ones to be proud of or ones that are better kept in the grave. My aunt gave me a great one, about a civil war ancestor that I hope to post about in the next couple of days. To everyone who just suffered through this, find your family stories, document them and share them. You may not be particularly interested in them, but your children may and you'll regret not being able to answer those questions.
