Memorial Day...Remembering All Who Served

 For us, this Memorial Day weekend played out like many before it. We rested, we visited my parents's, my father-in-law's, and sister's graves at the Farmington Cemetery, we had a mini-family reunion, and we did yard work (not necessarily in that order...). Something that made the holiday different for me this year was finding my father's WWII B-17 crew information.

Something I've searched to find for years.

I've had a few photos, but to see the names, do internet searches, find out more about the men, they feel more real to me this year. I only wish I could have contacted them before they all passed away.

Such is life.

The day always makes me wish I had reached out to many who served in the military before they passed away. My father's brothers, for example. I've blogged many times about the fact that the Taylor's sent five sons to fight in WWII, and two more served after them in other wars. Thankfully, they all returned. Others were not so fortunate. The more I think about the family's sacrifice, the more impressed I am and the more honored that I can call them my uncles.

Too bad they--and millions of others who served--are gone.

I'm sensing a theme: wishing I could connect with those no longer here.

I suppose that's what the day is for...the holiday to remember, to appreciate, to hopefully learn by their actions, their sacrifice. We sometimes forget that the people who risked their lives for not only their families but for those they did not know including generations that have now been born. I know the world my children know would be vastly different had those brave people not stepped up when the call went out and changed everything.

Memorial Day...to honor those who served and appreciate the results of their decisions.

I Found It...I Found My Dad's B-17 Crew And Plane!

It took years, but I finally found his plane and I found his crew. I remember happening upon it years ago, but when I tried to find the information again...nothing.

It was the new HBO series, Masters of the Air that made me begin searching again. 

I came across the website: 100thbg.com. I did a search for my father's name and I got his crew and the planes they flew. I only have one picture of the plane and the crew and my dad wrote down who was in the picture. I tried search after search with the names--just their last names--and came up with nothing. Plus, my father said the plane was called "Hell From Heaven" (great name for a bomber...), but the plane was really named, "Heaven Sent" (good, but not as good...). 

On this site, I found every name of the crew, and every name of the planes they flew. Silly me--I thought they stayed with the same plane, a la Memphis Belle, but apparently not. They have my dad having flown on five planes. 

With the complete names, I did internet searches for everyone on the crew. They're all gone. I suspected as much. One lived in Ogden and it would have been a treat to be able to track him down before he passed and asked him about those missions, what it was like to be up there, and what my dad was like as a twenty-year old. 

Another surprise is a new photo including my father and the crew--it's the one at the top of this post. My dad's the tallest one, second from the left, back row.

This year is my father's 100th. In November it will be one-hundred years since he was born. The things he saw, the tough times he lived through...it's almost too much to comprehend. They really were an amazing generation.

I found my father's past, his history, and those with whom he served. It was a great day.

 

Some Heroes I've Never Met...

 I only know them by their last names...Rilmer (or Riemer...), Mischler, Frurin, Schinick, Johny (possibly a first name...), Kircher, Hal Junior, and my dad...

I met him.

The others, never, and considering the time that's passed between when these pictures were taken and now, I'm betting they're all gone. I missed my chance. 

This is a photo of my father's B-17 crew. I've tried researching their plane, Hell From Heaven, but it eludes me. I found it once, searching the internet many years ago, but every time I search now, I can't find it. Which means, I can't find out who these brave men were. My mother knew of them--one, I don't know which, was from Montana or Wyoming...some place close. She might have met him, I'm not sure. But, my mother's gone, too, so, once again, I've reached an impasse.

Today, we honor veterans. They deserve the day--they deserve more than a day, a month, a year. The life I've lived would be vastly different had the millions of families not sacrificed their greatest gifts--their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers--to defeating evil.

Because I've never met (save one...) of the men in these photos, I don't know their stories, their histories, their experiences. I'm sure there are living descendants who have heard the stories. I'd love to spend time with their children and find out what happened, answer many of the questions I've had since I was old enough to understand the war and those who fought in it.

I've heard that many of those who served and sacrificed didn't like to talk about what happened...a reasonable response. Had I the opportunity to ask them what happened those decades ago on foreign lands and they refused to answer, I would have nothing but respect for them and move on.

But, if they chose to share, I'd soak up every fact, every detail. If that happened, maybe I'd regret knowing what they did. I hope not, because it's knowledge, knowledge I could pass to my children so those sacrifices wouldn't be forgotten.

To me, they're heroes, and always will be.