Sunday, May 24, 2009

More for Memorial Day


I hope you are reading all my Memorial Day posts and when you are done here, going to the Cards for Heroes Blog Hop- click on the blinkie at the top of my sidebar. Make sure you watch the CFH video below- it is wonderful!

I just found Cards for Heroes but I intend to get involved. I've already gotten 20+ cards ready to ship to them this week. These are all blank cards that the men and women serving can use to write in and send home to loved ones.

This is a picture of my Dad in his barracks in Greenland during WWII. (Isn't he handsome?) He was assigned to a weather station there that did the forecasts for the ship convoys and D-Day.

All the stories Dad was willing to tell about his time in the service were lighthearted. He talked about the barracks dog, a Huskie, and meeting Eskimos, and watching the Aurora Borealis at night. After he died we found an old newspaper story among his papers that my Grandmother must have saved for him as he was overseas when it was printed. It told how his unit had the highest suicide rate in all the services because of the drastic conditions at his base. None of the Americans serving there had ever been exposed to the realities of living north of the Arctic Circle: the extreme cold, and the almost two weeks of total darkness in winter which caused depressions so severe that some of the men could not take it. I cannot even imagine how terribly this must have frightened and upset Grandmom.

Few, if any, of the Americans serving in the Middle East today have lived in the conditions they are currently experiencing. Baking heat and desert dryness I would guess can be just as demoralizing as those long, bitter days of total darkness were for my father at his posting.

Some of my favorite stories to hear as a child were the ones about the mail- how Grandmom would pack cakes in popcorn to keep them fresh, and how Grandpop got mad at Daddy for playing poker, even though he sent his winnings home. "If you can win $50 you can lose $50!" Dad always said that the mail bag was the most important part of the week for him and everyone else up there.

Part of the Cards for Heroes program is something called Any Hero letters. These are cards or letters that you can write to someone serving overseas. An Any Hero letter is included in each box of blank cards; to read more about them, check out this Any Hero link.

I think there is no better way this holiday weekend to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our country than to support those who are currently serving. Please read through all my Memorial Day posts then head on over to Cards for Heroes and see what you can do to participate. Someone "over there" needs you!

27 comments:

Tami Bayer said...

Such a completely beautiful and heartfelt post. Thank you for sharing this story with us. I'm so touched by the picture you've painted with your moving words.

Anonymous said...

Such a beautifully written story you've shared here. Thank you for visiting my blog during the CFH hop. :)

Corinna
www.myscrapbooklife.com

Suz said...

Thanks for the inspiration & for supporting CFH

JPScraps said...

Read all your Memorial Day posts. Thanks so much for sharing your stories.

Dawn said...

What a great pic of your dad, wow that is a cherished item to have, good for you in making over 20 cards already.. woo hooo!! I think you'll find it addicting to send little box's to cfh!

Thanks for hopping along us!

Chris said...

What a touching post. Thanks so much for sharing your story, and supporting CFH.

Chris said...

What a touching post. Thanks so much for sharing your story, and supporting CFH.

Gwen said...

Wow! I'm getting a bit teary eyed! What a lovley post...Love that picture of your dad! what a treasure!! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

Sue McGettigan said...

Such a GREAT story, and how much more of a hero your Dad is for sparing you the stories of despair and loss that accompanied his service. I'm glad you learned of it eventually though, you know what your father endured to serve. Thanks for sharing the story.

Unknown said...

Beautiful post. Special thanks to your family for serving!

Lost in Paper said...

20 cards already!!!! how awesome, thanks so much for sharing your story!!!!

Sandy said...

Awww thanks so much for sharing your stories---and for jumping into the bloghop!

Maggie said...

Indeed your father does look handsome in this picture. Thank you for supproting our troops.

Lynn said...

Thanks for supporting this event and for supporting our troops.
Proud Army Mom
Lynn

Lisa (mldesignworks) said...

Thank you for sharing your stories! Wonderful!

SuzAnn said...

I'm so glad I can post on your blog! I wanted to thank you for the touching stories on your Memorial Day post and for being part of the bloghop supporting CFH. You write beautifully and I was very moved. TFS!

Laurie said...

Awesome post! Love your stories. Hope you had time to stop by and read mine. Thanks for sharing with CFH!

Renee said...

Love the photo of your dad! Thanks for sharing!!

decp8nter said...

what a great story. I never realized we had men in Greenland for the war. Yep, a handsome Dad!

Lisa - papergrace said...

What an amazingly wonderful post. Thank you for sharing a part of your family with us.

Wishing you a happy Memorial Day.

cr8iveme said...

What a touching post. Thank you for sharing. I am also on the Latecomer list of the blog hop.

I'm thankful for all our troops.

Happy Memorial Day.

M.E.

Anonymous said...

WOW!! Thank you for that heartfelt post and for your support!! :)

...Darlene said...

Thank you for sharing such a heartfelt post. I am near the end of the blog hop journey and it was good.

Fabre said...

What a great story about your grandfather...thanks for sharing! Thanks for making cards for us - our heroes will love them! There is nothing like a handmade card. Have a wonderful memorial day!

Lyneen said...

Thanks for sharing your story of your father...... Bless our troops!

Cindy said...

beautifully written....your Dad was hansome! :o)

Shirley said...

So sorry I missed it. I get so emotionally involved on MD, like that little boy in the video, that I just spend most of the time praying for and observing those who have lost those who gave the most precious gift.