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From:
Subject: Memories
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 19:43:46 EST


Sometimes it is hard to get information from our families. Many have painful
memories that for decades they have chosen to "forget" or at least never
speak of. I think the most painful are War memories.

When I began my research, my father sent me his military discharge papers.
I was stunned. He had never spoken of WWII other than to say he was in the
Air Force--known then as the Army Air Corps. He was in the Pacific
Theatre--Soloman Islands. I read history books, copied photos of the
make-shift landing strips on various Islands. they "hop-Scotched from Island
to Island. I kept calling my father and asking questions. He would say, "I
don't remember. It was a long time ago. It was nothing."

One day I packed up my records and flew to his home. Dragged him onto the
"Porch" and said, "Daddy, this is important to me. Please help me to
understand." I pulled out photos and other information I had compiled. The
floodgates opened and he shared the entire story with me. We both sat out
there crying for hours. But I got the story.

I wrote it all up. I gave it to him shortly before he died. It was a
tribute to him.

One of his memories touched me so much. As they were Hop-Scotching north,
they pulled into a port. He saw that the ship next to them was the ship his
brother served on. He mentioned it to a crewmember. Shortly afterward, he
saw his brother approach in a dinghy. His brother boarded and they visited
for a couple of hours. The image of two brothers, together for a brief time
in a horrible war, greeting hello--and possibly good-bye-is one I'll never
forget.

When I gave my father the material I had compiled, he cried and said "Thank
you."
This is why we research. this is what fuels my research. Because Heaven is
really that you're remembered. That you have left a part of your life behind
in other's hearts and minds. Sandra

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