The Veteran in My Life: part one

Mom's brother, Charlie, is a Viet Nam helicopter pilot veteran.  He and my other Uncle, Richard, are the only two veterans I know personally.  Uncle Charlie wrote a paper about his time in Viet Nam and with it being Veteran's Day weekend, I thought it fitting to share some of it:

"I memorized 1 Thessalonians 5:18. The verse was quite simple, "In everything give thanks, for this in the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Little did I realize how much I would lean on this verse in months to come.

"Sometimes I fell asleep while the other pilot was flying, but twice I fell asleep while at the controls.  Once while at the controls, I fell asleep and the aircraft went into a steep left spiral and the nose tucked. I woke up and regained control of the aircraft. I glanced a the other pilot to see why he hadn't taken control. He was asleep. He never knew what happened. Sometimes the door gunner or crew chief would fire one of the M-60 machine guns just the keep us awake. 

 "There was no way to prepare for the realities of battle. During my first fire fight, the instrument panel became a blur. I couldn't focus. My eyelids were fluttering uncontrollably due to the tremendous shock waves from the projectiles passing just outside my door.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 came to my mind. I found strength in my special verse. 

". . . .flying down a riverbed, I sensed that I had flown into something. I had felt the impact, but I did not know what had happened.  When we landed to refuel, we found a small tree hanging on the right skid.

"War is always bad, but there are times when things get worse than bad."  He goes on to tell about a mission where he had to rescue some soldiers immediately, however, a dying Viet Cong soldier was laying in the way:  "He was in the only area to touch down, and I straddled him with the skids." The ground commander went to Uncle Charlie's side of the chopper and ". . . motioned for the other four to get on board.  As the others ran for the aircraft, a Viet Cong stood up on the far side of the crater. He took aim at me with his AK-47. The ground commander saw him and took aim with his converted M-79 Grenade Launcher. The M-79 barrel was sawed off to 5 inches, and the stock was fashioned into a pistol grip. The grenade hit the Viet Cong in the chest . . . "

One of Uncle Charlie's missions was to rescue a Special Forces soldier who was "pinned down on a mountaintop."  Uncle Charlie was able to locate the exact spot where the soldier was, due to his mirror signal reflection.  A captain was in the helicopter with Uncle Charlie and this happened to be his first mission, which made the captain quite nervous.  "He instructed me to light a cigarette and give it to him.  I replied that I was a pilot fully capable of flying the aircraft; he could light his own cigarette if he so desired. He refused and ordered me to light it again, I again refused. At this point he just let go the controls and grabbed his cigarette. I took control of the aircraft. He attempted to put the cigarette in his month, but missed. He was very nervous by this time. On his second attempt, he stuck the cigarette in his nose. The Huey was vibrating quite a bit, and he had difficulty finding his mouth. He was very frustrated at this point. He finally lit it and quieted down considerably. But I wasn't about to let him have the aircraft controls back."

"On the eighth day at Camp Evans, the Colonel and Commander Sergeant Major exited the command bunker and walked to the flagpole. There were now only six of us Americans at Camp Evans. I saw that the Command Sergeant Major had a tape recorder and was preparing for some sort of ceremony. Not knowing what what about to happen, I gathered my crew next to the aircraft. We were about fifty feet from the flagpole. When he began to play the Star Spangled Banner, the Colonel lowered the Stars and Stripes. The two of them furled the flag and walked over to the helicopter.  The commander said, "Let's go Mac." No one had ever called me "Mac", but I assumed he was referring to me. None of the six of us had dry eyes. It was an extreme emotional event; we had just closed Camp Evans."

To be continued. 

We, the People

The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day to get out and fulfill our duty as free, American citizens.

Time Off

Mom, dad and I decided we needed some time off after so many deaths this year. So last month we packed our bags and headed to southern Ohio and Kentucky.  Stops along the way included: Georgetown, OH (would LOVE to live there sometime!) where we drove by U.S. Grant's childhood school house and childhood home; Ripley, OH, where we looked around in an antique store that was in an old piano factory building. We also watched a little boy chase his older brother who was chasing their little white puppy.  We got to see inside a private house that was right by the Ohio river (which was the highlight of the vacation for me).  From there, we went to Maysville, KY and got stuck driving around in squares due to all the one way streets. Lexington, KY was our next destination where we drove past Mary Todd Lincoln's childhood home, and visited the Lexington cemetery.

Look at that porch!

Old homes.  Swoon. (Yes, I swoon over old buildings.)

Dad and mom with the wonderful couple who took us on a tour of their home. (Love the exterior color scheme!)

Lexington, KY cemetary

This tree is very large!  It is estimated to have been around since the signing of the 

United States Constitution!

I was walking around and saw something I'd never seen before: Confederate flags instead of the normal American flags. 

 I walked over for a closer look.  The last names read Morgan; I wondered if they were any relation to the famous John Morgan, leader of Morgan's Raiders.  I looked at the stones behind the first ones and guess who I found . . .

The man himself.

Mom, dad and I moved on to another section of the cemetery.  There were over one thousand of these white markers.

Cemeteries can give a person many mixed emotions.  That day, mine were a combination of silence, gratitude, thankfulness, and sorrow.

American Family

This is my Grandpa, Grandma and dad, sometime during the late 1950's.  I love this picture!  I love how handsome Grandpa looks, how pretty Grandma is, and how cute dad appears. They look like the type of family that would be good friends with Leave it to Beaver.  

I love this picture because it's the beginning of my family. 

Staying Busy

 A few weeks ago, I thought I would try a mixture of veg. oil and vinegar as paint stripper on my desk chair that is not a pretty sight to behold. It was a tedious job . . . molasses on a fall day would move faster then this so called 'paint stripper'.  I put a lot of elbow power into getting the first layer of paint off the top of the chair before I decided to throw in the rag and call it a day.

While Janel and I were sorting through cards of Grandma's, Natasha helped mom wash the doll clothes that Grandma had kept. 

I love to see clothes hanging on the line!  It looks so homey.

During one of my visit's with my cousin's, Jennifer, Rebekah and I got to volunteer at a historical farm house.  We did not get to do as much as I thought we would, but I really enjoyed re-living a different time period (1820's).  We got to ride on top of a canal boat as a pair of mules pulled us along.  An Indian who sat below us, played his Indian pipe.  I did not get any pictures during the ride, but it was so calm and peaceful!  Definitely an experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon!

L-R: cousin Jennifer, friend Bekah, and cousin Rebekah

When I wasn't stripping paint, or playing dress up, or reading cards from eons ago, I helped mom can two bushels of peaches.

There were some BIG babies in there!

The jars that did not seal went into a pie. 

Pie crust made with spelt flour.

And that's a wrap of how I stayed busy during my summer!

Remembering Benjamin

Our families met at church years ago.  There were seven of their children at that time and two of us.  I was around four or five when we met, but most of my memories don't start until around eight or nine years of age.  By that time there were probably nine children on their side, but the oldest two were at college.

I'd almost forgotten the time he locked Janel, Abigail (his sister) and me in our old semi trailer.  He coaxed us in, then he got out, closed and locked the door and walked away leaving us banging on the door.  I don't remember how long we were in there before someone came to our rescue and became our new hero of the day.

There was the time when we children were outside walking along the electric fence when he told Janel that if she touched the fence, she would not get shocked because she was wearing rubber boots.  ". . . but if you touch it and put your other hand on the ground you'll get shocked."  I don't remember if she did it or not.   

I look outside and see the Bale King hay wagons that we played in.  We had a real door, old shower curtains for walls and even had a swing in our 'house'.  After we were done 'building' our house, we decided to play Jews and Nazis.  Benjamin was the Nazis that came to our house (uninvited and unannounced) dressed in his whole camouflage uniform, complete with a big flashlight.  "I am here to search your house.  I have reason to believe you are hiding Jews." He said with a German accent so good it changed the whole atmosphere.  That six foot something enemy questioned us up one wall and down the next as to how many people lived in that house, the ages of the dwellers, where everyone was, etc. all while shining that flashlight all around our humble abode.  The amateur actors had never been interrogated like this before and were not sure how to respond to this intruder.  We may have been shaking in our boots a little due to the challenging reality of keeping the Jews hidden, yet I think we all were enjoying the thrill of playing at a whole new level!  Not all of our little actresses were home to be questioned, so our visitor made himself at home in our hammock, pulled out his mouth harp and played a tune or two while he waited for the little 'Anne Franks" to arrive.

L-R Top: Abigail, Benjamin, Amanda (another friend) Bottom: Me, Janel

When Lance Corporal Drake returned from boot camp, we jogged in a field after dark, with our commander calling out Marine choruses while leading the way.  We're trying to keep up to the best of our female ability when he looks back and says "You coming?"  That was the same night we got to shoot his guns into the bank of the manure pit.  (The same manure pit that we went boating in a few years earlier. Benjamin rocked the boat a little as he threw old eggs into the air and tried to hit them with an oar.)
It was around that time when he and Abigail came over one night and we made chicken noodle soup.  With a Hershey's chocolate bar in it.  After supper we played Pit around the table.

I can't leave out the time all of us children went to the woods and built a little fort, complete with a blue tarp for a roof.  Benjamin had taken the chain saw and skid loader out to cut some wood for dad.  At one point when he was on the skid loader he was backing up when he realized the back of the loader was being elevated above the front of the loader.  With there being no hills around this part of the state, his curiosity got the better of him. He turned around to see that he was driving up a tree as he backed up.
Mom was going to have beef stew over a fire that night.  Benjamin asked if we could have the fire in the woods and cook supper over out there.  (Don't worry. It had recently rained so everything was quite wet.  Your blood pressure can return to normal now.)  Benjamin told us to "Go over there, I'll tell you when you can come."  We obeyed our elder and kept ourselves busy in a different area of the woods.  After a few minutes something caught Abigail's attention as well as mine.  We looked over to where Benjamin was, just in time to see a large poof of healthy fire eating up the oxygen in front of the newly made fort.  We rushed over only to have Benjamin meet us half way there as the fire died down to a nice little picturesque campfire size.  "What are you doing?!" We asked.  "Don't worry." He assured us, "Everything's under control."  "What made that 'poof' sound? How did you get it started with everything being wet?" We questioned further. "I added a little gasoline and it started. Everything's fine." The soup was good and everything was fine.

But as of last week, all I have left are memories of Benjamin.  It was a complete shock to me because I didn't know how much pain he was in.  Our families have not been as close over the past few years due to children growing up, going to college or getting married.  I didn't really know the military Benjamin, but they say war changes people and I don't question that at all.  My world has been shaken because a childhood brother-like friend is gone and all I have left are these fond and fun memories.  I will forever remember those times as I try to move on in life and trust that the Lord will somehow use this for His glory.

Hershey soup

 So long Benjamin.  You will be greatly missed.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Looking Back:
As we continue to sort through Grandma's house, we came across some lots of cards and letters dating from 2010 to the 1940's, when Grandma and Grandpa were still in high school!  When I say we found cards, I mean we found every New Years, Valentine, Easter, Birthday, Graduation, and Christmas card - still in the envelope.  Not to mention all the letters from school friends and family.  At first I wasn't looking forward to having to sort through allllll the letters.  They're old, they feel funny, some of them smell . . . I just come away feeling uckie. 
However.  I've really enjoyed learning what my grandparents generation talking about. Grandma's friend June was a faithful writer in every since of the word.  She was interested in comparing school grades, school programs, music teachers, favorite new 'pop' songs and movies (one of which included Gary Cooper), who's going out with who, hair cuts/perms, new clothes, and a funny story or two.  (Like the time a school boy's pet pigeon followed him to school and sat in the open window, then flew over June's desk, scaring her. The teacher shooed it out, but it walked right back in and this time flew over to land on the piano, which had everyone "roaring" by that time.  But the teacher had "had enough" so she put the bird outside and shut the window!) Is that not a newsy letter?!

We also found girdles at Grandma's.

  There were at least thirty of them . . .

Some have seen better days, so I butchered them to save the boning for Civil War corsets.  

Looking Forward:
I signed up to start taking an on-line interior decorating class at Penn Foster Career School!  I'm really looking forward to what I will learn, in hopes that it will help me pursue my dream of fixing up old homes.
I am in the process of filling out some job applications in the town where my cousins live.  I am ready to begin a new chapter in life.  I am ready to sprout my wings and fly.  I'm ready to set up my own housekeeping.

Page from Grandma's housekeeping book.

Grandma's hope chest wishes

Due to Grandma's passing, I have everything one would need to set up housekeeping (including a piano!).  Once I get a job (Lord willing), I will be looking for a little house that I can make a home for myself, and hopefully have a female housemate. 

Janel, catching up on news from 1952