A Memorial Day Memory

Dear Diary,

While sorting through some shelves in my studio yesterday I came across a box I had tucked away several years ago.  It had some wonderful genealogical items in it and all cleaning stopped as I went through the box.  There was a newspaper clipping my mother had saved that gave a brief account of my father's division's entry into Frankfurt in March of 1945.  I've added his photograph taken just a couple of years before he went overseas.

Last night, I watched the Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C.  It was so moving especially the part where the presenter read the recollections of a soldier who was in the invasion of Anzio.  It was the words that filled my eyes more than the pictures.  I have several letters  my father sent back to his sister during the war and those words, coupled now with this yellowed newspaper clipping, are so poignant.  In one he talked about seeing the concentration camps and then adds: "You can never imagine what it's like unless you see it with your own eyes."  No, we can't.  Words are so important...telling the story is vital, in all our lives.


Memorial Day here in American isn't just for honoring veterans but this Memorial Day I want to say thank you to all those men and women who have served and continue to serve our country, including my brother and two nephews one of which is still in the service.  We owe you all so much.