My Father Died Tuesday Morning. An old soldier passes on...

4.16.03 | mlmr

[mlmr]

My father died yesterday and I had the privilige of standing next to him and saying goodbye as he took his last breaths. He is having a military funeral for the most important event in his life was the 18 months he spent with the 101. He joined them at age 16 as they crossed the Mediterranian to Italy. He was young and ski patroled the Alps for a while then was spun off to the new MPs to help keep the peace in occupied Italy. He had many funny stories including the time he was involved with arresting the general who headed the Italian forces and engineered the surrender to the Allies. He even married an Italian woman. God rest his soul.

[tdscpa]

So sorry for your loss.

I lost my father two years ago. He was a B-24 pilot with the 454th Bombardment Group.

[Missouri]

May your Father rest in peace.

I feel lucky to have both my Dad and my Uncle (his brother) still alive who both served in WW2. My Dad was in the navy on the Atlantic side doing convoy duty. My Uncle was assigned to the 2nd Amored Division seeing action in North Africa, Sicily, France and into Germany. I cherish their stories they have passed on to us.

[Missouri]

My you Father rest in peace. ( I'm sorry I botched up my post #82)

[sarasmom]

Prayers sent to you, and all who knew your father.
May you find some measure of comfort in shared grief.

[Missouri]

Sorry again but I'm having computor problems. Post #82 is not botched up after all.

[BibChr]

I am sorry; death so sucks. What a large hole my own father left by his passing. Ten years later, I still miss him all the time. I feel for you.

My wife offered me the contextualizing thought that our parents are there for us when we are born, loving us and caring for us, and seeing to it that we are comfortable and that our every need is met.

And then it falls to us to do the same for them at the other terminus.

Dan

[ExSoldier]

Not many people get to be present when somebody they love passes on. I was holding my mom's hand when she crossed into Glory in 1998. I hope you were able to (as I was) say everything and anything that needed to be said for a sense of peaceful closure. "Leave nothing unsaid" a very good friend of mine counselled. It made all the difference. Just remember, you never get over such a loss....you merely grow used to it.

There will be times in the future when you have a "Dad moment" (having now lost both my parents, I have them both, but mom more often) in the form of a memory which will spring into your consciousness so sharp and pure that you'll think the event had just happened. The feelings will be sharp, bittersweet and intense. Just let it wash over you and savor the memory....not the pain. God bless.

[Gamecock]

God Bless. We owe that generation a huge debt of gratitude for preserving our liberty!

TO OUR DADS!

As requsted, here's my story:

My dad passed in 1996, served 22 years. He never got over the fact that his son was a "damn officer." Funny thing is he always had a hint of a smile on his face when he called me that. As you may know, the tradition is that a new lieutenant gives a silver dollar to the first NCO that salutes him. Dad got my silver dollar. He kept it till the day he died.

I miss the old Sergeant Major. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a cry.

[ExSoldier]

My dad was a civilian in WWII who held the rank of honorary colonel in the Corps of Engineers because he was a good engineer. He designed an improved bombsight for heavy bomber aircraft that was classified for many years. He later became instrumental in the design of Cape Canaveral launch pads and the Vertical Assembly building. When I was commissioned as an Army Officer, his security clearance, greased the way for my own....but he never knew. He passed away just months before I graduated from college.

[omni-scientist]

We are witnessing the last few lights of a never-to-be-seen-again generation slowly dim and go out.

I remember growing up in the 50's in the shadow of The War, and of knowing even a few WW-I veterans. Those men have long passed away; but with the latter War, we have only a few remaining chances to hear the stories told of those who fought and died, and to know firsthand the true character of those who fought and lived.

Whatever memories you hold dear of those close to you, make sure they are not forgotten and never let go.

[FreeReign]

My father died yesterday and I had the privilige of standing next to him and saying goodbye as he took his last breaths.

God bless you and your family.

My dad was a WWII vet -- he received a purple heart at Monte Cassino in Italy, fighting Nazis. He never volunteered to me much about his experiences in the war.

Unfortunately, I was just a goofy teenager when he died so I never got around to asking him about what he did over there and I never got a chance to thank him for all that he did to make the world better.

Did you get a chance to thank your dad?

[Cacique]

May he rest in peace, he joins my father and others of that generation. We can only hope that we are worthy neough to fill their shoes.

[USMC_tangocharlie]

Our nation can never repay the debt we owe to men like your father.

Hand Salute.

Tango

[hope]

Your family will be in my prayers tonight. Please know that even though the loss is enormous God heals the open wound that it leaves over time...

Your dad was very young at 16 and very brave....We are so blessed to come from that generation..You see the so called Peace Protestors out there and you know they don't have a clue to what it took to defend their freedoms to make fools of themselves as they do...

My dad was also 16 when he enlisted...He was a Calvary man in the 112th Regiment during WWII. He did not talk much about it and we never asked ...

It surely is a loss for us kids not to know more about his service to our country...But, from what I understand it was not a pretty story to tell. So many children became real men at that time. God bless each of them that still remain...And to those who still have them in their lives, cherish them and ask them alot of questions then pass it along to your children...

[Genesis defender]

Prayers of comfort for your family and others who miss your father....

It is often said that the grieving process can be helped along by recalling positive memories of the deceased loved one. Are there any other humorous stories involving your father that made you smile?

[alisasny]

Recently I said to a friend, that we are so lucky or fathers and grandfathers made it home from WW2 or we most likely would not be here. My grandfather got married before he volunteered for the Marines and his wife was pregnant when he left. When my grandfather got back nearly 2 years after his sons birth (my father) in 1944, his wife had ran off and abandoned my father. His grandmother(my great gram) and my grandfather raised him. He never did see his mother again.

My grandfather passed away in 95 and great gram in 99. I miss them a lot. The stories at my grandfathers services were incredible. His own brother and all his cousins all served in WW2 and were so happy about all the photos and such my grandfather had kept. All of them made it home which is incredible.

One of my favorite stories is how my great grandmother was so furious at her 2 sons for volunteering before the draft. She had raised her own 3 children alone as my great gramp had died in the early 20's. My gramp was oldest and enlisted first. My uncle snuck out and enlisted behind her back. She yelled about this event up until her death.

[muggs]

Sam, thanks for the info. My father in law passed away 1 month ago. He served in WW2. I will tell my husband about this.

[Ol' Sox]

God bless you and your dad. I've lost both my dad (a China Marine!) and uncle (a Marine Sgt. WIA at Okinawa), and I miss them both very much. Thankfully, I still have my step-dad who was a combat engineer in Europe and went ashore at Normandy. He and his unit built many bridges on the way to Germany and wound up in Czechoslovakia. Bless his heart, it still pains him to talk about what they found there.

[mlmr]

Thank you for the story about your Dad. They were an amazing and talented generation.

[mlmr]

My father helped liberate Nazi prison camps in Italy which were filled with Italian nationals and resistance prisoners. He would drive these poor starved souls back to their families. There was a woman, Laura, a resistance prisoner that he carried to his jeep with a blanket and drove her to Lucca and reunited with her family. Later Laura introduced him to my mother (who he always called "My Little Fascist")and translated for them. My mother and Laura went to an Ursaline boarding school in Lucca...it was according to my father...Italy's version of Miss Porters of Farmington.