MEMORIAL DAY—A FITTING DAY FOR
THE FIRST THEME OF MY BLOG—WARRIORS…IT HAS BEEN JUST OVER A YEAR SINCE I HAVE
BEEN DOING THIS BLOG THING..FOR THE MOST PART I HAVE ENJOYED IT..SOMETIMES I
GET A LITTLE FLUSTERED TRYING TO PUT A STORY (OR ANYTHING) OF INTEREST
TOGETHER…JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GET EVERYTHING I’D LIKE TO GET DONE—DONE..
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| ONLY HALF OF THE NAMES THIS IS THE WEST FACING PART OF THE MEMORIAL |
ONE SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION (WHICH
I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND) IS THE RELUCTANCE OF 98% OF THE WARRIORS I HAVE KNOWN
(AND MANY THAT I HAVE MET) TO SHARE THEIR STORIES…BUT IF YOU HAVE BEEN
FOLLOWING THIS BLOG YOU HAVE SEEN THEIR PICTURES--AND I HAVE HEARD THEIR
STORIES…I’M A GOOD LISTENER AND I RECEIVED A TOP-SECRET CLEARANCE WHILE I WAS
IN THE MARINES—SO I WON’T TELL WHAT SHOULDN’T BE TOLD, (NOT MUCH OF A TALKER
ANYWAY)..
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| EACH PIECE IS UNIQUE AND COLORFUL |
WITHIN THE PICTURES OF MY BLOG
ARE PHOTOS OF KOREAN WAR VETS (WE CALL THEM GREY BEARDS)..YOU’VE SEEN PICTURES
OF TWO ‘TUNNEL-RATS’—THREE DOOR-GUNNERS—ONE VET WHO RIDES WITH A FAKE LEG FROM
THE KNEE DOWN (THE REST OF HIS LEG IS FERTILIZER IN A RICE-PADDY SOMEWHERE IN
VIET NAM)—YOU ALSO WERE INTRODUCED TO A WORLD-WAR TWO P.O.W. AND A MARINE
SNIPER (A PERSONAL FRIEND WITH 14 CONFIRMED KILLS)..
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| EACH SIDE IS DIFFERENT |
I WAS VERY HONORED TO BRING YOU THE
AMAZING STORY OF MR. ED RICCIO JR. (BACK IN THE MAY OF 2011 ARCHIVES)..AND I AM MORE THAN
HONORED TO BRING YOU THIS STORY ABOUT AN ANGEL OF A 93 YEAR OLD WOMAN (WHO ALSO
CHOOSES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS-NOT EVEN A PICTURE), WHO FOR THE LAST 11 YEARS HAS
MADE AFGANS AND LAP WARMERS FOR OUR WOUNDED SOLDIERS..SHE HAS SUPPLIED
LITERALLY HUNDREDS TO THE ROCKY HILL VETERANS HOSPITAL (HERE IN CONNECTICUT)
AND HAS ALSO HAD HUNDREDS MORE DELIVERED TO WALTER REED ARMY HOSPITAL IN
WASHINGTON D.C…
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| SOOO---MUCH BETTER THAN DRAB BROWNS AND OLIVE GREENS |
WHEN I ASKED HER WHAT MADE HER
GET STARTED HER REPLY WAS== “I LOVE OUR SOLDIERS—I DO IT FROM THE HEART.” SHE HAS THE POISE AND GRACE OF A WOMAN WHO
HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY A DIVINE POWER…SHE EXPLAINED FURTHER== “I TRY TO USE BRIGHT
COLORS TO BREAK THE MONOTONY OF THE SOLDIERS JUST SEEING DRAB KHAKIS ALL THE
TIME.” THE MAGIC SHE WORKS WITH A PILE OF SCRAP MATERIAL IS FAR BEYOND ME..SHE
BUYS SOME COTTON BATTING (INSIDE STUFFING) AND WITH HER KNOWLEDGE AND TALENTS PUTS
TOGETHER A OBJECT OF WARMTH AND COMFORT AND I WOULD BET MY BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT
MORE THAN ONE SOLDIER HAS GOTTEN WATERY EYES KNOWING THAT SOMEONE, SOMEPLACE,
CARED ENOUGH TO TAKE THE TIME TO PROVIDE HIM WITH A HANDMADE AFGAN—THAT CAME
“STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART” OF A WOMAN WHO SAID “I LOVE OUR SOLDIERS.”
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| ANOTHER SHIPMENT READY FOR WALTER REED HOSPITAL JUST A FEW OF THE MANY HUNDREDS ALREADY DELIVERED |
HER DESIRE TO REMAIN UNKNOWN
MAKES IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPAND ANY FURTHER ON HER LIFE, LOVES AND
HABITS..BUT I WILL CONTINUE A BIT MORE..SHE HAS MADE CHILDREN’S CLOTHS FOR THE
PEOPLE OF HAITI, SIMILAR ARTICLES OF COMFORT FOR BURN VICTIMS AND BAPTISMAL
GOWNS FOR THE BABIES OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES..
HER BROTHER SERVED AS A CAPTAIN
IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE WHERE HE WAS AWARDED FOUR BRONZE STARS, AND ON DEC
20, 1944, HE WAS CAPTURED (TWICE) AND SUFFERED AS A PRISONER OF WAR..SHE
STARTED DONATING BLOOD WHEN HE WENT INTO THE ARMY AND CONTINUED TO DO SO UNTIL
SHE WAS 75 YEARS OLD.. I HAVE THE HONOR
OF BEING IN TEMPORARY POSSESSION OF A BOOK HE WROTE (TYPEWRITTEN) AND HAVE
ENJOYED EVERY SINGLE WORD HE TOOK THE TIME TO WRITE..A DRAMATIC AND VIVID
ACCOUNT OF WAR AS ONLY A COMMON INFANTRY MAN CAN PROVIDE..I AM HOPING TO BE
ABLE TO BRING YOU SOME OF HIS WORDS IN A LATTER POST…AND OF COURSE—HE TOO MUST REMAIN
ANONYMOUS…
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL- IT'S MORE THAN JUST A DAY OFF—TELL A
VETERAN THANKS—SHAKE HIS HAND—MAYBE BUY HIM A COFFEE OR A BEER—IT MEANS A LOT
TO US—IT REALLY DOES..AND MAY GOD BLESS OUR 93 YEAR OLD MYSTERY LADY…
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| STOPPED AT THE CAPITAL TO TAKE A BREAK LAST SATURDAY AND MET THESE GOOD PEOPLE FROM MONTREAL CANADA FERNANDO AND HIS WIFE ELENA AND THEIR SON EDWIN. UNTIL NEXT WEEK--BE GOOD TO ONE ANOTHER AND LIKE THE SONG SAYS-DON'T READ ANY BEAUTY MAGAZINES  |
4 comments:
Happy Memorial Day to you Jim! And thank you for your service to this country. It really is appreciated by most of us.
Hello Kevin--good to hear from you..And you're welcome!! Hope all is going well with Shelly and you and I hope you are having a great Memorial Day weekend..Talk to you soon--Jim
Last Monday of May in any given year. Memorial Day in US - thinking of you Jim and 'all the others' (you know what I mean). I've memorised all of your archives where the vets are concerned.
I wondered when you would be able to catch up with this beautiful lady, thanks so much Jim for a truly meaningful and poignant post. She is so incredibly humble that one can't help but understand, in part, her reticence to be known. :)
R.
Hi Rose-Thanks for your visit and kind words..If there was a special type of film available and one was to take a picture of this wonderful lady,there would probably be angels all around her and who knows, there might even be a pair of invisable angel wings on her back..She truly has a certain aura about her...talk to you soon-Jim
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