Roy
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I went to visit my mom earlier this year and my cousin brought to my attention that my mom needed a flag box for this flag so I got her this display case for Mother's Day. I assumed it was my grandpa's flag, but it turned out to my Great Uncle Don's. I was very happy that it turned out to be his. While he is certainly not forgotten in our family - we decorate his grave every year and speak of him frequently - he is not as centrally remembered as my grandfather or father as he never married and had no children.
He was a WWII veteran who served under the illustrious and infamous General George S. Patton in the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater. He enlisted in October of 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and was discharged in 1945. So, he was there for all of Patton's march through North Africa, Italy, and on in to the Netherlands and eventually Germany. He saw a lot of brutality that never left him. Today I am sure he would be treated for PTSD. It really affected him.
As I said, he never married. After the war he came home and became a sheepherder, living alone on the mountain for most of the year. He drank a lot, and while I don't think that solely contributed to his eventual death, but it was certainlhy a factor. He was 66 when he died in 1981. I remember going up the mountain to visit him at his sheep camp, he was friendly and happy and I remember his smile. It really did my heart good to know that was his flag in that case. I am happy to remember him today too.
Happy Memorial Day Uncle Donny!! Thanks for your service!
He was a WWII veteran who served under the illustrious and infamous General George S. Patton in the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater. He enlisted in October of 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and was discharged in 1945. So, he was there for all of Patton's march through North Africa, Italy, and on in to the Netherlands and eventually Germany. He saw a lot of brutality that never left him. Today I am sure he would be treated for PTSD. It really affected him.
As I said, he never married. After the war he came home and became a sheepherder, living alone on the mountain for most of the year. He drank a lot, and while I don't think that solely contributed to his eventual death, but it was certainlhy a factor. He was 66 when he died in 1981. I remember going up the mountain to visit him at his sheep camp, he was friendly and happy and I remember his smile. It really did my heart good to know that was his flag in that case. I am happy to remember him today too.
Happy Memorial Day Uncle Donny!! Thanks for your service!
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