Happy Veteran's Day



Veterans Day is kind of a fun day for me. I get to contact all of my family members to thank them for serving and they think me back. I myself served in the Army for 10 years, in the reserves, but I actually come from a long line of Naval folks.

In fact, for all of my 10 years of service the phrase I usually heard from family was, "Shoulda gone Navy!" From my own father, to my cousins... shoulda gone Navy, Kay ;-)

But no one can top telling me that I should have gone Navy than my grandfather, Ed LeClere. My grandfather was the one who hosted family gatherings and allowed 16 crazy grandchildren to wreak havoc upon it. My grandfather is famous for making navy bean soup for all weary travelers who showed up at his door. He is the one that had the speedboat behind which we all learned to water ski. He had the most awesome and amazing sledding hill behind his house. His garage had the flat roof which we all would climb up on and then dared each other to jump off.



But my grandfather was not always just grandpa. He was once a son whose mother had to kiss good-bye. He was the boyfriend my grandmother watched shipped out and prayed for. He was drafted in 1943 and went to serve in the Navy during WWII.

My grandfather at Boot Camp.

 As a section leader during boot camp, here in extra Chevron with the "square not Admiral rate"




Grandpa was an airplane mechanic!


This is the route for his tour of duty. He served in Manila in the Philippines and basically island hopped as he serviced planes.





And like all good soldiers he married his sweetheart before he shipped out ;-)



Photobucket






This is grandpa at his bunk and with his teammates in Manila.








He even survived a little bit of hazing as he crossed the equator for the first time. There was a ceremony in which you had to kiss Neptune's big toe on the main deck to cross over from a lowly 'polywoog' to a well seasoned 'shellback'



Grandpa saw his share of beat up planes after an attack on Japan.










He was pretty excited when World War II ended and he could go back home to his wife and young son. You see, back then we didn't have Skype, we didn't have the Internet. My grandmother waited patiently for letters to arrive, faithfully wrote her own letters, and raised a little boy who had never met his father





He was honorably discharged and sent back home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where he would hold down up to three jobs at a time so that my grandmother could stay home to raise their five children. He would see three of his own boys enter the Navy and serve during the Vietnam war. He would watch his grandchildren enter the Navy, the marines (also Navy)… And one oddball granddaughter join the army ;-)





My grandfather remained in the naval reserve for years after World War II. He was even called back into service during the Korean War. Of course it made sense for Naval reserve folks to have to take a cruise every year to stay "up to snuff".

My grandfather was released from the Korean War duty and was able to go home to help raise his family. The youngest boy at home during this time was my father.



When we were stationed in Washington DC, I had the privilege of meeting my grandfather at The Mall downtown to celebrate his service during World War II. He had been offered to take an honor flight to tour the Nation's capital. He had the time of his life and I really appreciate what the honor flight does for our veterans.


Thank you for your service grandpa!!!!!



Comments

  1. Wonderful post, Princess, and Happy Veterans Day to you and Ben, too. My Dad was a part of the Greatest Generation in which the general populous took care of themselves as well as looking after their neighbors. Their overall attitude was "how can I help you" and not "what are you going to do for me?" which is so prevalent, today. You and Ben demonstrate the former attiude which is just one of many reasons that I am so proud of you.
    dad

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    1. Thank you daddy!! I should warn you now that your guest post will be next year… ;-)

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  2. THANKS KAY! YOU DID A BANG UP JOB, GREAT !!!
    GRANDPA ED

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    1. Thanks Grandpa! Thank you for inspiring it!

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  3. Wonderful, wonderful post! I beautiful tribute to your grandfather. My grandfather was also in the navy and was stationed in the Solomon Islands. I think he belonged to the best generation ever!

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    1. Thank you Tammy, I agree. They were selfless and they thought of others when they went to go serve.

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  4. Thank you and thank you to your grandfather.

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    1. Thank you Mami, I appreciate it. I will pass it along to Grandpa :-)

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  5. Such a wonderful tribute to your grandfather and those who have served. Love the old photos!

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    1. Thank you, I do too!! Grandpa was a trooper getting these things gathered for me :-)

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  6. Oh, Kay! You have me in tears. What a brilliant and moving tribute to your grandpa! So filled with love and pride. A big thank you to him and all of your family (including you, miss).

    :-)
    Traci

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    1. Thank you Traci, hug yours and tell him his service is also appreciated!!

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  7. Thanks for gathering this information and posting this, Kay! I learned a lot about Grandpa that I did not know from this.
    --Layni

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    1. Grandpa and Jo actually did all the gathering ;-) I know, I learned a lot myself!!

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