Veteran's Day Is Upon Us

On Halloween morning my dad was awoken to his neighbor pounding on his door telling him the building was on fire. She had fallen asleep with a candle lit and it somehow caught the entire structure on fire. He made it out with nothing but the pajamas he was wearing. All was lost.

He had a stroke 6 years ago and it left him paralyzed. Luckily about 2 weeks before the fire he moved from the second floor of his apartment building to the ground floor. Had he still lived up the steps he would not have been able to escape the blaze. He was able to get out but not without some minor injuries due to his paralysis. He's now staying with my sister...who does not have space but we made it work. I bought him new clothing and my sister replaced his medication and his immediate needs have been met between us. She took him back to his burned building yesterday and he was only concerned and sad about two items lost. My late husband's watch and his father's burial flag. I had forgotten he even had my husband's watch. The burial flag sat in my grandma's closet since August of 1986. I was 7. It was the first funeral I ever attended. My grandma died this past fall. When she died my dad got the flag. For 31 years it sat untouched in my grandma's home and he had it for just a few months when the fire happened. He feels immense guilt. 

He convinced my sister to go and just check one more time for the items. When they got there she tried to go sift through the embers but as she stepped into the rubble she heard listing as if the floor would give out so she had to stop.

I can't replace my husband's watch and I gave him my permission to let it go. I can have a new flag dedicated and folded from Jefferson Barracks where both his parents, my husband and maternal grandparents are buried. We are a military family. Three uncles, 4 grandparents and my husband are all buried there. It's as familiar a place as a family home. 

I was able to track down a copy of my grandpa's original DD214 from 1946. It has a listing of his ribbons and medals. I will have them mounted in the shadow box. My cousin Alina had it. She's sending me a copy. My other cousin Eddie, his brother's son was KIA in Iraq in 2009. We were raised in the same house. He was Army just like grandpa. His widow Stephanie is sending me one of his original name tapes to add to the box. It may not be the original but it will be as special because of all the pieces inside and how they got there. 

With Veterans Day coming up I realized how truly patriotic my family is and how we have sacrificed so much again and again and yet we still give freely to the country, to the people and to each other.

My dad lost everything but I gained a new perspective after that fire. 

The two items he missed most were from a Marine and a Soldier he loved. Their headstones read World War II and then Iraq Afghanistan and Persian Gulf. Those are not just places on a map. They are defining moments in our family's story and our nation's history. 

I cannot replace the original flag that was presented to my grandmother on August 10 1986 but I can have a new flag dedicated and folded in his honor. We will adapt and overcome. It's what we do. 

My dad is still alive and able to share the stories of our family member, some of which gave all. 

Veterans Day had a meaning in our family. It's one day a year we honor both my grandfather's, four uncles, my late husband, my cousin Eddie and everyone who served in between. My family had served in every single conflict this nation has had since the Revolutionary War. 

Patriotism is who we are.