Was thinking 'bout my Dad today - WWII memorial

[eileen from OH]

Francis Slattery was as ornery as they got and could be a total asshole. I used to joke that he could clear a room faster n anybody I knew. Though he was a great union supporter and a lifelong Dem, he had a strong racist streak and his hero was John Wayne, fer crap's sake. But he was also a great Dad, and considering that he never made it past the 10th grade, he knew what was happening in the world. His old man was Irish and had a wife and kids in Ireland. She died, and those kids were pretty much on their own, so he emigrated here and, in an arranged marriage, wed my grandmother (who was 17 at the time - he was in his 40s.) He proceeded to sire 8 kids, of which my Dad was the second oldest, before dropping dead of a heart attack. When the old man died, Dad quit school to help support the family as best he could. His mother, still a young woman, decided to check out what she'd missed getting saddled with an old husband and kids and started screwing around, so much so that Social Services took the younger ones away.

At that point, Dad joined the Army and he often said he wished he would have made a career out of it. A really bad temper and er. . .trouble with authority. . .ended that, but not before he saw action in Europe, including D-Day.

His later years, when he was stricken with Alzeimer's blurred what was left of his mind, but his Army memories still remained clear. He died 5 years ago, which was a blessing, really. But I thought about him a lot today, and how much he would have appreciated and loved the whole memorial thing. In a lot of ways, the service straightened him out and taught him things he never got in the chaos that was his family life growing up.

He loved his labor brethren, his country, and his daughters. Yeah, he could be a total dickhead, but he never let any of 'em down.

I'm hoisting one for Francis right now.

eileen from OH

[WolverineDG]

1. hi eileen!!

this whole day, i've been thinking about all my uncles (and one aunt who was an army nurse) who served our country with honor during wwii.

one uncle quit school & ran off to enlist in the navy. i think he even lied about his age. anyway, he served on the foote & was the sole survivor of a japanese attack that struck the fantail section. his best friend on the ship, who he was sitting next to & talking with, died. like your father, alzheimer's took his memories away too, and mercifully, he also died 5 years ago.

another uncle was captured by the germans in italy in the invasion of the soft underbelly of europe. he was a first generation american (his parents immigrated from germany). because he knew german, he was able to save the remainder of his unit (from the texas national guard) by surrendering just as the nazis (who outnumbered & outgunned them at that point) were threatening to open fire and mow them all down. he would tell stories about being in the pow camp, but would mostly state how the germans would favor the americans over the other nationalities in the camp (esp. the russians). he said it was because they knew they might have relatives over in the us & also that the americans would treat them humanely when they had to surrender.

none of my relatives who served during wwii survived to see the dedication today. i do hope, though, that wherever they are, they can look down & see the beautiful memorial created for them.

dg

[laylah]

2. Here's to Francis

Eileen :toast: and :hug: for you.

Jenn

[happyending]

3. I'd be proud

to toast your Dad.

OK, he was not a perfect guy.

Few of us are. ;)


Cheers to eileen's Dad.

[Piperay]

4. Here's to your Dad!

:toast: my father was also WWII, I'm lucky he has slowed down but still alive and kicking (kicking repuke ass that is :-) :kick: ). My father never talks about WWII just wants to forget he ever fought in it, guess the memories are just to hard to deal with. :-(

[graywarrior]

5. My Dad

Don't know how to post photo's, but found this picture of my dad by accident online a few months ago. He died in 1977, so it kinda freaked me out. He's 5th from the left, bottom row. Handsom sucker.


http://corregidor.org/states_project/states_pages/massachusetts.htm