Shown above is one of the few pictures of my Mom and Dad. I had far too little time with them.
During the war years, my Father worked as a fire chief at a munitions depot in Lordstown, and lived on the base. My Mother worked at an arsenal in Revenna, living near there, while I stayed at my Grandparents farm.
It was only after the war that we became a true family living together and those years were so few and fleeting in memory. In 1950 I went into service and by 1959 they were gone.
I realize that this doesn't sound like much of an epeteth for ones parents, but perhaps by the very nature of those circumstances my atitudes towards peace and family have been strengthened.
At least I knew them for a while. Far too many children today have even less. Some through the loss of parents through accidents, some because of war, but far too many due to the ignorance of the parents themselves.
Before the war there were many reunions, and pow wows where we mingled with Aunts, Uncles and cousins. It gave one a feeling of being truely a part of something great, a family. As the war progressed, those who attended became fewer and fewer, and the loss was felt by the children. Perhaps we couldn't put it into words at the time, but we felt it. Billy couldn't make it this year, his Father was killed and his Mother works too far away. Or cousin Jimmy won't be here this year, his parents moved to Detroit. Grandfather Tall Elk, passed over, his heart was broken because his children put him in a nursing home so that they could both work. That was the war!
I'm not really sure, but I think the last pow-wow we attended was in 1942. There were very few young men dancing, most had enlisted. Many of the Elders had passed over and it seemed that it was mostly the ones who made our spirits soar the highest. I know my beloved G.Grandparents were no longer with us then. The gayety was not there, things had changed. Such a sad ending to what was once an occasion to look forward to.
You see, this was all family. A sense of belonging and being a part of something. So its loss was every bit as devastating as the loss of ones parents in its own way.
Mom and Dad's love gave me life. My Elders taught me to appreciate it. My family gave me a reason for living. The importance of unselfish giving. Life's scars taught me the faults in my life. Survival gave me a chance to amend it. Old age gave me the meaning of Peace. My conscience tells me to defend it.
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