Monday, May 27, 2024

Memorial Day:

Homemaking in the Dunes

May 27

Memorial Day strikes a different chord with me this year. It is a bit sadder. I discovered during my Mother's Day weekend snooping that the narrative of my father's military service isn't quite true. My father didn't sign up with blind patriotism, he made a youthful mistake that FORCED him to join. It was jail or Vietnam. My husband is from the same era and thinks I am being too hard on my father's narrative. I called my Godmother and grilled her. She told me to leave it alone. He had last rites and had been forgiven. It is no longer my business. The question is does my father's service mean any less, regardless, of why he entered the service.

I finally received my father's service records. Oddly, they have been sitting in my delivery box. I spent last night reading the records. Considering there was a fire in the record department I was lucky to obtain these records. My father was a complicated, and broken man who came home unfit for family duty. A youthful mistake changed the trajectory of many lives in my family.

So, on this day, let's remember the soldiers who didn't come home, the broken who did, and all the families who are mourning the lost and the broken. Do I regret knowing the truth? No.