Honoring those who have served
Each year on Veteran’s day I like to do something to honor my father and mother. Two years ago I blogged about my parents (including a photo of my Dad) and our hike to the beach which reminded me of Normandy where my Dad landed after fighting in Africa and Sicily.
Sophie Nestor in her Gray Lady uniform holding a photo of George with his silver star
This weekend I had two wonderful walks to honor my parents, my Dad who died 6 years ago this month and my Mom who is 94 and living in a nursing home near my sister in Ohio. I describe my walks below but first a bit about my Mom, who served her time during the war as a Grey Lady. The term “Gray Ladies” refers to the American Red Cross volunteers who for many years provided services that were non-medical. My parents married on July 4, 1942 and a week later my Dad left for over 3 years serving in WWII. During this time my Mom lived I in Atlantic City, NJ. During the time he was gone she worked and volunteered as a Grey Lady to help in any way possible with the soldiers who were returning sick, injured, and disabled. Among her tasks were letter writing, reading to soldiers, and listening to their stories. Some knew my Dad and wondered why they had been wounded while he and others continued to be safe from harm. I know the Grey Ladies were just one group of volunteers over the years who have helped maintain our freedom.
On Sunday we headed to Rockland for a walk on the Breakwater. It was early morning and the tide was at its peak. The color at the horizon was bright pink and the sky above was cloudy. There were few people and the water in the low part of the rock walkway almost came up over the top. When we got to the end we watched the ferry go by and thought about how much my parents would like it as well. My heart swelled with pride as I took a moment to reflect on my gratefulness and missing them in their younger days filled with energy, enough to walk the Breakwater.
Yesterday we walked almost a mile on a trail through the woods that lead us to the trail along the salt water. No beach, just steep rocks with crashing waves and big swells. In fact, the swells were so big that the eider ducks and lobster buoys disappeared for seconds at a time. Even though the wind was strong, the 55 degree temperature made it somewhat comfortable. We saw remnants of Sandy including a lobster trap, scraps of wood and a bright red and white lobster buoy unleashed from its trap up on dry land.
As we sat and gazed out at the lobster boat checking traps, the gulls overhead in the cloudy skies it provided the chance to remember how fortunate we are to live in a free country that has been protected for years by brave men and women like my parents. I am grateful for what so many sacrifice each day for us!
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At age 21-year Victor Lundy dropped out of architecture school and became an infantry soldier in World War II. He didn’t give up on his creative side and actually made documentary sketches using pencil of where he was and what he saw. He struggled to listen to lectures and was busy instead of sketching in 8 pocket-sized notebooks. His collection was donated by Lundy, at the age of 92 to the Library of Congress. They’ve all been scanned and are available online at THIS LINK.
This taken from the article: “The vivid images show everything from air raids to craps games for cigarettes. A sense of longing for home is a recurring theme in his sketches, which include detailed drawings of his bunk as well as particularly dream-like drawing, titled Home Sweet Home, that shows a soldier lounging on a hammock.In we have a breathtaking visual record of World War II, in the form of documentary sketches. For Lundy, “drawing is sort of synonymous with thinking,” which means we are left with an intimate archive of sketches that unfold one soldier’s experience fighting on the front lines.”
me arts ed 