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Archiver > GEN-NEWBIE > 2002-04 > 1018055136


From: Joyce Ragels <>
Subject: Re: Memories
Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2002 18:05:44 -0800
References: <19c.3dcc4e.29df9ec2@aol.com>


S

You did good. You made me cry. Memories should do that and I'm glad you were
able to give something so special to your father. It is obvious that it was a
gift to both of you.

J

wrote:
>
> 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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