A WWII Sailor’s Heartfelt Letter to His Son

 

Commander John J. Shea, FA USN

 

June 29, 1942

Dear Jackie,

This is the first letter I have ever written directly to my little son and I am thrilled to know that you can read it all by yourself. If you miss some of the words, I'm sure it will be because I do not write very plainly. Mother will help you in that case I am sure. 

I was certainly glad to hear your voice over the long distance telephone. It sounded as though I were right in the living room with you. You sounded as though you missed your daddy very much. I miss you too, more than anyone will ever know. It is too bad this war could not have been delayed a few more years so that I could grow up again with you and do with you all the things I planned to do when you were old enough to go to school. 

I thought how nice it would be for me to come home early in the afternoon and play ball with you, and go mountain climbing and see the trees, and brooks, and learn all about woodcraft, hunting, fishing, swimming, and things like that. I suppose we must be brave and put these things off for a little while.

When you are a little bigger you will know why your daddy is not home so much any more. You know we have a big country and we have ideals as to how people should live and enjoy the riches of it and how each is born with equal rights to life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, there are some countries in the world where they don't have these ideals, where a boy cannot grow up to be what he wants to be with no limits on his opportunities to be a great man, such as a great priest, statesman, doctor, soldier, business man etc.

Because there are people and countries who want to change our nation, its ideals, forms of government, and way of life, we must leave our homes and families to fight. Fighting for the defense of our country, ideals, homes, and honor is an honor and a duty which your daddy has to do before he can come home to settle down with you and Mother. When it is done, he is coming home to be with you always and forever. So wait just a little while longer. I am afraid it will be more than the two weeks you told me on the phone. 

In the meantime, take good care of Mother. Be a good boy and grow up to be a good young man. Study hard when you go to school. Be a leader in everything good in life. Be a good Catholic, and you can't help being a good American. Play fair always. Strive to win but if you must lose, lose like a gentleman and a good sportsman. Don't ever be a quitter either in sports or in your business or profession when you grow up. Get all the education you can. Stay close to Mother and follow her advice. Obey her in everything, no matter how you may at times disagree. She knows what is best and will never let you down or lead you away from the right and honorable things in life. If I don't get back, you will have to be Mother's protector because you will be the only one she has. You must grow up to take my place as well as your own in her life and heart.

Love your grandmother and granddad as long as they live. They too will never let you down. Love your aunts and see them as often as you can. Last of all, don't ever forget your daddy. Pray for him to come back and if it is God's will that he does not, be the kind of a boy and man your daddy wants you to be.

Thanks for the nice sweater and handkerchiefs and particularly for the note and card. Write me very often and tell me everything.

Kiss Mother for me every night.

Goodbye for now.

With all my love and devotion for Mother and you,

Your daddy 

In Flanders Fields

- Lt. Col. John McCrae

A Little Memorial Day Music

"Hymn to the Fallen" by John Williams

Trump Visits Arlington Section Dedicated to War on Terror

...visits with families there.

Memorial Day 2017

God bless those who gave their all and their families who loved them.

A Time to Remember...

"As Memorial Day Nears, a Single Image That Continues to Haunt"

"Taken by the photographer Todd Heisler from his 2005 award-winning series for The Rocky Mountain News, “Jim Comes Home” — which documents the return and burial of Second Lt. Jim Cathey of the Marines, who lost his life in Iraq — the photo shows his pregnant widow, Katherine, lying on an air mattress in front of his coffin. She’s staring at her laptop, listening to songs that remind her of Jim. Her expression is vacant, her grief almost palpable."

Read the rest here. It is reminiscent of another photo almost too painful to look upon.



Remember those who have given all in the defense of their country, and remember, too, those they have left behind.

Obamas to Visit Arlington on Memorial Day

This constitutes breaking news. Barack Hussein Obama II has been president for three Memorials Days now. The man who will cross the Atlantic to shill for the Chicago Olympics, the man who will cross the Atlantic to accept a Nobel prize he didn’t earn or drink beer in Ireland, will finally travel the three and a half to five miles and cross the Potomac to visit Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. I was beginning to think, after finding time to schedule 67 rounds of golf*, the only way to see a picture of Obama at Arlington on Memorial Day would be to photoshop one.

The Obamas will visit Arlington National Cemetery where the president will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Good on you, Mr. Obama. As the nation's Commander in Chief...it's about time.


*through May 10th – this number may have changed

Update: After double checking, Obama did lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009. It must have been one of a number of other occasions where the Commander in Chief was conspicuously absent from Arlington that I was thinking of.

UpdateII:It may have been Veteran's day that I was thinking about. As I noted last November 12th:

Last May, when Obama skipped the Memorial Day services at Arlington because he was vacationing in Chicago, like many Americans, I thought that it was inappropriate and somewhat disrespectful to our fallen soldiers. He did plan a visit to a smaller cemetery near Chicago (which visit, as I recall, mercifully rained out his speech), but as Commander in Chief, he ought to have attended the most prominent national ceremony, IMHO.
Tailgunner Joe Biden took his place at Arlington.

UpdateIII: From Barack Obama's 2008 Memorial Day speech:

"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes – and I see many of them in the audience here today – our sense of patriotism is particularly strong."

UpdateIV: Obama Pays Lip Service to Military During Visit to Arlington Cemetery, Promptly Heads to Play Golf For 70th Time Since Taking Office

Memorial Day 2011

Because some gave all...