1943
I lived in a federal housing project in south Seattle called High
Point. My father was a defense worker in the Navy shipyards; my mother
worked in a food processing plant. All of the children of the housing
project had to go to a school complex. I was only four years old so I
was in what they would call today, a pre-school. Everyday an air raid
siren would sound and all the children had to get under their desk.
When the all clear siren sounded we would get up from our desk and
line up in the back of the room. This part of the day, I hated the
most. There were two women at the head of the line and when it came my
turn to step up to them I opened my mouth, one woman would put a large
spoon full of cod liver oil in my mouth, the other woman would hand
you a small cup of orange juice and one square of Graham cracker. Then
we would have to go over to where blankets had been laid on the floor
and take a nap.
1944
I got up one morning and walked out into the living room, there was a
strange man laying on the davenport all wrapped up in bandages. I ran
into my parent's bedroom and woke up my mother telling her about the
man on the davenport. My mother got up out of bed and took my hand and
led me back into the living room. "John, this is Alex. He has been
injured in the war and we are going to take care of him". I watched my
mother change Alex's bandages three times a day for months. There were
times, I was jealous of all the attention Alex got. After Fact: Alex
was in the 8th U.S. Army Air Force, he was a tail gunner. Alex's plane
was shot up over Germany, he got his injures when the plane crashed on
landing in England.
1945
It had to be winter, I remember wearing a big coat, I got into the car
with my father and we drove down to the waterfront in Seattle. We
walked out on a pier, there was a battleship and sticking out of the
damaged bow of the ship was a Kamikaze plane.
1945
The inside of our house was always dark. There were dark green shades
over every window and my parents had them tape closed. I hated those
shades, I came home one day and they were gone. After Fact : I never
knew that Seattle was considered a prime target area during the war,
the reason behind the green shades. The day the dark green shades were
gone was the day the war was over.
1951
My mother and I just stepped off the train at the King street station.
As we were walking down the platform my mother suddenly stops, walking
towards us was my big brother. "What's wrong Joe? My mother asked.
Children did not drive the family car even if they were 22 years old.
"Nothing Mother, I have something to tell you." "What do you have to
tell me?" "It can wait a little bit longer, Mom." I got into the back
seat of the car, my Mother was sitting up front next to my brother. I
lean forward and put my arms on the top of the front seat so I could
hear their conservation. My brother said nothing, he just kept
driving. "Joe, what do you have to tell me?" "Mother, I joined the
Marine Corps" My mother did not say a work, I think she was holding
her breath. She brought her hands up to her face and started crying, I
put my arms around her neck and started crying too.
1952
My three sisters and I stood around the kitchen table watching my
father and mother, cutting the center out of a large loaf of bread,
once the center was out my father put a bottle of whiskey in the
center. It was against the federal law to ship whiskey to the troops
in Korea, but my father wanted to send something special to my brother
for Christmas.
1954
My brother was coming home from the Korean War. My parents drove down
to San Francisco to meet the ship. Our parents called and said they
had Joe with them and they would be home in two days. I was 15 years
old, I did not know how I should greet my brother, when he walked
through the door. I had no one to talk to about my feelings; I was
very worried, about doing the right thing. My three sisters were very
excited and I knew what they were going to do. When our brother walked
though the door my sisters leaped on him covering him in kisses and
hugs, I just stood there. Joe broke away from our sisters and walked
over to me and shook my hand. It made me feel so good that my big
brother greeted me as man. I was very, very happy to have my brother
back.
1958
I had a part time job delivering flowers. Every Thursday I would drive
out to Fort Lawton and at the military cemetery, I would walk down a
long row of military cross. I stopped at the grave of Pvt. R. Jones
Killed in action Korea. I would place a vase with a single red rose in
front of the cross. On Fridays, Pvt. R Jones mother would take a bus
out to Fort Lawton and walk down the same long rows of military cross,
the red rose, helped her locate her sons grave. ... and they call it
the forgotten war.
After Fact: In 1971, I stopped in the old florist shop, to purchase
flowers for my mother I asked, if they were still delivering the
single rose, at Fort Lawton? They said yes.
1962
"Ma, I just got my orders." I was calling from Fort Gordon, Georgia.
"Where are they sending you John?" "I'm going to Korea." Silence, then
my mother started crying. My father came on the line. "What did you
say to your mother?" my father asked. "I'm going to Korea, Dad."
Silence. My mother came back on the lone, then I told her, what every
son, tells his mother. "I will be OK, there's nothing going on in
Korea now."
After Fact: Six months later, I was standing guard over, four bodies
of young American solders, killed in an ambush by North Koreans.
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