Cynthia Ross, Author
Wikipedia definition: Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans, that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces.
A veteran is one who has served in the armed forces, especially one who has served in combat. … A common misconception is that only those who have served in combat or those who have retired from active duty can be called military veterans.
For me, Veteran’s Day is a day I reflect upon with great fondness, appreciation and love for my father who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He passed away twenty years ago. His love for our country was immense.
When I was just a toddler of 4 years old, he taught my brother, 11 months younger, and me the Star-Spangled Banner. Every time he sang those words
“And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”
tears would well in his eyes and his voice would carry each word with a strong and heartfelt pride for America.
My father was valedictorian of his graduating class at Northwestern University. He became the Vice President of Fairfield Engineering. When I was 15 years old, I had a dream. When I shared that dream with my father, he pulled me aside and told me a story he had never shared with anyone. It was so moving, I asked him to write the story so that I could always remember the day his life was spared. Now, as Food for Thought, I share just a piece of that incredible story with you. These are a few excerpts from his story:
“My Grandmother believed in Guardian Angels. Oh, she never said you could see them, or even hear them, normally.
It was 1945 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill which was in action with the Fifth Fleet in the Pacific War Theater when our ship started to close in on Japan. The compartment in which I slept was illuminated by only a small electric lantern in the passageway. I remember something trying to awaken me, a glow and a whisper….. it was an old woman leaning over me. She said “Something terrible is going to happen, but you will be alright.” Again she reassured me, “You will be alright.”
In May of 1945, without warning, Japanese bombers descended on the ship. In a few seconds time, they turned the USS Bunker Hill into a flaming inferno. Fire engulfed twothirds of the upper decks while beneath the heavy steel the lower decks filled with heat and smoke. Although I saw men dying all around me, I was never afraid.”
The casualties suffered by the Essex-class aircraft carrier Bunker Hill exceeded those inflicted by any other Japanese suicide attack. On May 11, 1945, two kamikaze aircraft carrying 250-kg bombs hit Bunker Hill in quick succession, and they killed 393 men and injured 264 men.
My father taught us the true meaning of what it meant to be an American and although his body left this earth in 1998, his spirit and his deep love for our country carries on within his children.
A genuine thank you to all those who serve our country! You are respected, appreciated and loved!
