World War II Memorial; Talent OR

World War II Memorial, Talent OR

My Memorial Day 2014 Story.

Where are the memorials in your town?  What is your Memorial Day story?

Talent’s World War II Memorial

I pass by the memorial to World War II service members several days a week.  It is on one of my morning running routes.  It has names of 10 individuals.  The names are familiar, but not familiar.  They’re names like you might see anywhere in our country.  But, I don’t know the individuals or their families.

World War II Memorial; Talent OR

My Family’s Service

Yet, when I see the memorial, I can’t help but think about my own family’s history.  My father, grandfather, father-in-law and several uncles served in World War II.  Both grandfathers and my grandmother served in World War I.  My husband served in Viet Nam.  I served in the first Iraq conflict, Desert Storm.

When you look back in my family’s history, I have ancestors who served in our Civil War and in our Revolutionary War.

I fell honored by my family’s good fortune.  As far as I know, all my serving relatives came home.  I know that one of my father’s uncle suffered from his service in World War I.  He was “gassed”, exposed to mustard gas.  The wounds he received plagued him the rest of his life.  But, he did come home to his family.

I have my father’s battalion “year book”.  In the back, there is a list of all the men who served in his battalion during World War II. As I read the names and looked at their hometowns, I was impressed at how our country was represented.  Every state, small town, big town.

Thank You

As I look at the marble memorial to our World War II service members, I see my family.  I wonder if they might have met any of these service members listed on the stone.  As I think about our memorial, I want to thank these men that I never knew.  They gave their life.  Thank you.

 

The Drawing

This is part of a personal project to get to know my town of Talent, OR by drawing its places.

4 thoughts on “World War II Memorial, Talent OR”

    1. Thank you Mary for your compliment and thoughtful comment. Funny, I don’t think of my family as being particularly a “military” family. We just responded when asked. My Mom used to say it has the military life has its noble traditions and I agree! I hope you had a lovely Memorial Day.

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