Today is Veteran’s Day, so I’m going to focus on the few relics I have from my papaw. Actually both of my grandpas were in the military, but this post will be about my dad’s dad, Clinton. Obviously I didn’t know him while he was in the military, as he was only in from 1946 to 1948, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of his service.
I don’t really remember my papaw talking about his time in the military when I was a kid, except for whenever my mamaw would make a certain meal for us at lunchtime. She called it “hamburger toast and gravy,” but he called it “SOS.” It wasn’t until much later that I realized what it stood for (shit on a shingle), and I finally understood why she would give him a look whenever he’d start to say it around me. Apparently that was one of his favorite meals that he would get as a soldier.
My parents recently found his old uniform, and now it is hanging in my closet. It looks so small compared to how I remember him. Granted he was only 17 years old when he was wearing it…
I love the details on it. It makes me want to go back in time and meet him when he was so young. Was he excited to join? Was he scared of anything? I wish I would have asked him these things when I still had a chance.
Unfortunately, he died of cancer in 2001, almost 55 years to the day after he enlisted. He was hard working, funny, and always present for his grandkids. I’m sure I will write about him more in other posts, but today I’ll end with this. I’m grateful for all the time I had with him in my life, and I wish so much he could meet my boys. Luckily, I have a few items and photos that I can share with them to help them know their great-grandpa a little better.
My final photo is a shell from his funeral, discharged during the 21-gun salute.
Thank you to both of my papaws, and thank you to all our veterans.
This is great writing! Thank you for sharing!