Far too many Americans will go to the lake, cook out, drink beer and have a long weekend and never give a thought to the reason for this day. My aunt Cora and uncle Joe did not do those things from 1942 until the day they died. Their son Norman, my first cousin, was at Bataan and he did not finish the infamous "death march". His body was never recovered. My aunt Cora said I resembled Norman and every time I visited her and uncle Joe, she would excuse herself and go into another room for several minutes and return red eyed. This always broke my heart. I was a little over one year old when he was lost but I remember some time later, maybe three years or so when the family was formally notified that he had died somewhere on Luzon. All the grown people were crying and it took a few years for me to fully realize who he was and the impact on the family. This same scenario was played out thousands and thousands of times during World War II. I grew up and have had a wonderful life due to all the men and women who died to preserve our way of life so this weekend, I will have a cold beer this weekend and salute Norman and the hundreds of thousands who made the final sacrifice. Many years later I had the privilege of serving in the U.S. Navy aboard three different ships which were built and saw duty in that conflict and I burst with pride to have done so. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial day and remember what it means.


Chuck

Far too many Americans will go to the lake, cook out, drink beer and have a long weekend and never give a thought to the reason for this day. My aunt Cora and uncle Joe did not do those things from 1942 until the day they died. Their son Norman, my first cousin, was at Bataan and he did not finish the infamous "death march". His body was never recovered. My aunt Cora said I resembled Norman and every time I visited her and uncle Joe, she would excuse herself and go into another room for several minutes and return red eyed. This always broke my heart. I was a little over one year old when he was lost but I remember some time later, maybe three years or so when the family was formally notified that he had died somewhere on Luzon. All the grown people were crying and it took a few years for me to fully realize who he was and the impact on the family. This same scenario was played out thousands and thousands of times during World War II. I grew up and have had a wonderful life due to all the men and women who died to preserve our way of life so this weekend, I will have a cold beer this weekend and salute Norman and the hundreds of thousands who made the final sacrifice. Many years later I had the privilege of serving in the U.S. Navy aboard three different ships which were built and saw duty in that conflict and I burst with pride to have done so. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial day and remember what it means.

Chuck