Memorial Day

Dad served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Because of his bad eyesight, the service didn't want him at first. By 1943. he was drafted and sent to Fort Douglas, Utah. There he met and married Mom. Bad eyesight or not, he and another man tied for the top marksman score of the enlisted men.

After basic training, he was assigned to a unit that employed the very first primitive computers. The purpose of the computers was to keep track of troop movements. The computers were BIG (think room size or bigger) and used punch cards to operate them. The soldiers in Dad's unit received a commendation for how efficiently they did their work.

The young man who had never left the state ended up seeing the South Pacific with this computer unit. Dad said he traveled on a ship across the pacific and was never sea sick a day. But in his 60's he went on a tourist fishing boat off the coast of California, and he was sicker than a dog. That disgusted him. Dad was in the Philippines, New Guinea, an island named Helmaherra, and probably lots of places he never told me about.

Now, I wish I had thought to ask him more questions. To find out anything, I had to ask him questions. Dad never volunteered information or conversation. One thing I would like to know is: what was he doing when he found out about the surrender of the Germans and then the Japanese?

His service in the armed forces was important, and I am proud of him.