PASS IT ON
Family reunions are important. Not just for renewing long time friendships and catching up on the current news. Sometimes it gives us the opportunity to find out things we never knew.?
Case in point - this past weekend we came upon a scrapbook brought to a family celebration by our dear nephew, Darryle.?He found it in his Dad's belongings after his celebration of life.?His father, our brother David was keeping it as a legacy for the family. All of us were surprised by the information the scrapbook contained about our oldest brother whom we affectionately refer to as Uncle Al.?
The elder members of the family knew he was a war veteran in the Korean War. We knew he had a distinguished career in the Marine Corp along with his wife, Auntie Helen, also a veteran Marine. But this is how Uncle Al was described in news articles found in the scrapbook.
" MSGT Al Lee, who enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 during WWII took his fifth oath of enlistment for a total of 21 years service.
??His assignments have ranged from infantryman to that of a staff assistant at Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. He has served in every major Marine post in the United States and overseas.
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??A combat veteran of the Korean War, Lee earned the Korean Service Medal with four bronze stars while serving with the 5th Marines during 1950-51 along with five Medals for Exemplary Conduct."
Who knew? Brother Al never spoke about the war. His personality was one of extreme confidence and he almost always took control of any room he entered. But he was also the best example of humility.
As we get older, some of us are approaching the completion of the Family Tree with Ancestry with more urgency. We need to flesh out the details of our relatives' lives rather than just list their names and dates of birth and death. Every person needs a story to be passed on to the younger generation. If we don't tell them, how will they remember?
Higher Education
1 年Aunt Helen was a life-long friend of my mother (Edna Cregger Clark). I knew Uncle Al and Aunt Helen -- that's what my sister and I called them, too -- from birth! I spent some time wiith them most summers whereever they lived. They sent us small souvenirs from their travels, knowing that we did not get to travel much. My 16th summer, I spent 2 months with them in Hawaii where they showed me all the sights and introduced me to you and Fran and the other siblings. Al was so proud of all of his siblings, though I bet he never let you know just how proud for fear of giving you the 'big head.' When we came back to the main land near the end of the summer, they took me to see the studios in LA. Helen was chosen to be a contestant on "Queen for a Day," a TV show. She won! Her prize: a trip to Hawaii with her Marine girlfriends. They called themselves the "Pon-yos" (not sure of the spelling or specific meaning). While they went to Hawaii for 3-4 days, Uncle Al 'babysat' me. We had long talks, went to my first dog race, toured San Diego (where he was later a city planner), etc. He taught me to play chess and always asked deep, searching questions. He actually seemed to care what/how I thought. Loved them both deeply!
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1 年Thank you, brother Gus, for pointing out how exemplary our 'Uncle Al' was in his life and service as a true Marine and our loving 'older brother'! Semper Fi!