Hi Everyone. Happy Wednesday.
My dinette table is covered with boxes and envelopes and cards and plastic containers….. The most frequent sound you hear is: swish, stamp, thump, swish.
Remove card from box/envelope
Check card for "injuries"
Effect emergency fixes where required.
Check for glitter.
Check for liners.
Check for envelopes.
Open card.
Ooooh and aaaah over card.
Stamp back of card.
Fold over envelope.
Place card in envelope.
Place card in plastic sleeve.
Place card with envelope in plastic sleeve into appropriately marked jumbo ziplock bag
Repeat!
Repeat!
Repeat!
It seems only fitting that I should finish up the second box of cards to be dispatched to OWH on 9/11. That irony only struck me as I was half-way through finishing up the second set of cards. Somehow it was so appropriate that on this, the 12th anniversary of 9/11, I should be packing up cards to send to our troops.
As I write this post, I find myself taking a moment of silence to honor those that were killed in this tragedy, and those that have served our countries as a result. However, it's not just about 9/11 – it's about all those times that our men – and now women – have put themselves on the front line to fight for what they believe in – and to fight for our continued freedom.
Many of you who participated in this card drive have told me why you did so. Some of you have children or family members in the forces. For me, it goes back further than that.
25 years after my parents died I was handed a fragment of a hand-written note dating back to 1942. It was a piece of a letter that had been sent to my mother by a man serving with my father in Burma. It told my mother that he had been specifically requested by my father (who was still on active duty) to send his love and affection to my mother upon his arrival on English soil. He did exactly that – two days after his arrival in England. It meant a great deal to my mother that this man, who was probably only home on a few weeks home leave, took the time to write this letter. My parents kept what was left of it until they died.
It made me realize how important keeping touch with those back home is to those who serve. Also, how important it is to those back home to receive news from loved ones who are so far away. It is so much easier to communicate with our loved ones via the internet, but nothing is the same as a hand-written note or card.
For his entire life my father recognized those that served in his war and the war in which his father served. He didn't live to see this new round of wars, but I know that he would have continued to feel a need to support our troops.
I do these card drives to honor my father and his commitment to his country. I do it to honor those who continue his legacy. Some come home. Some do not. Some come home damaged and never really recover from their experiences – just like my father. However, they never forget their comrades and those who supported them when their very lives depended on the actions of their comrades. It's for those returning soldiers who are unable to shake off the horrors that they have seen and experienced. PTSD was real in WWI, it was real in WW2 and it is real today. My father never fully recovered from his ordeal of hand-to-hand combat in the Burmese jungle during Monsoon season fighting for his King, his wife, his child and his country. Fighting thousands of miles away from home. Fighting in a fight that most people tended to focus away from because they wanted to focus on the action in Europe.
When he returned most people didn't care about what he had encountered in Burma. It was almost as though he was a 2nd class soldier because he hadn't been stationed in Europe. It was a part of the war that most didn't understand and didn't care to understand. Even now, 70 years later, few people understand the circumstances around the incursions in Burma and many people could not understand how difficult it was. My father almost never talked about his time there. Occasionally I would be awakened by his nightmares in the next room. Sometimes I would see a look on his face and know that something had set a trigger in his brain and he had gone back to those times.
How I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have been more forgiving and understanding about the changes that occurred in a split second.
I do this in honor of my father and in honor of all those who motivate my blog readers who participate. I find myself quoting the words of Winston Churchill and they seem appropriate on today of all days:
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.
We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streams. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.
Tonight, take a moment to silently thank those who have fought for our freedom.
Hugs
Jaydee
9 Responses
Thank you Jaydee for touching my life through your blog and the few hand written e-mails. I have not heard from you in a long while, but when I get some time free I do visit your blog, as I always love to read your posts, and every time it teaches me something to think about and act differently! You have a special place in my heard! Take care my friend, God Bless you! Hugs always! G
Thank you for such a beautiful post on 9/11, Jaydee. As we mark this anniversary, it is a good time to honor those who serve. Like you, I honor my Dad, who was also a WWII vet, by making OWH cards. After he passed away in 2012, I started making cards in earnest for OWH as a way to show my support of the troops and to honor him. I sometimes feel like he is joining me in my craft room as I create. God bless all of the wonderful people who have supported your card drive.
This is beautiful, Jaydee, and I’m teary.
My Pawpaw fought in the South Pacific with the US Marine Corps. He would share funny stories of orangutans who wanted the canned fruit cocktail, but never the horrors he saw and experienced…until the end. He too suffered from PTSD and in the end it was accepted and he was given anti-anxiety drugs to try and help. He told us just some of the atrocities he experienced, including he was fairly certain they were jut going to be left there to die. Now isn’t that heartening for those young men? :o(
I participated in the OWH drive for so many reasons–my husband’s and b-i-l’s enlistments, my good friends and neighbors who are still serving, to simply support the troops.
When I was a child, the thought of “soldiers” was something vague, these mythical beings who were tough and indestructible. Now, now I KNOW these soldiers. They ARE tough, but they’re also HUMAN with human needs and frailties and fears just like the rest of us. They have loved ones they need to be in contact with. Deployments are long, arduous, hard, and often, boring (boredom with periods of terror I’ve heard it described when you’re in an area of conflict).
So, yes, I’ve managed to hijack your comments with too many words so I’ll be off now.
Thank you for this, and for all you are doing to support our troops.
Many hugs.
P.S. Hi Lou! :o)
What a wonderful blog this morning. Thank you for your love and dedication to your father and for all soldiers everywhere. I’m proud to have participated.
Thank you for what you are doing for our military. My four brothers and husband served. My brother-in-law, who went to be with our Lord in Feb., also served 3 1/2 yrs. in Burma. I pray that the freedom, that all these men and women have sacrificed for us, will not be thrown away.
what a moving blog this am. thank you for all you have done, god bless
Jaydee,
Thank you for your blog post to honor those who have paid the ultimate price and those who have served or are serving our great country. What a touching story about the note rec’d from a man who went out of his way to find your mom. So sweet. I’m so grateful for our troops and their families. My grandpa served in WW11 and my step father and father-in-law served in Vietnam. I try to honor their service and to do my very small part to help our men and women reach out to those they love. I appreciate all you do for them as well, you are an angel.
Beautiful, touching blog today Jaydee. My dad also served in WWII and hardly ever talked about it. In his later years, he told my son in law more about his experiences than he had ever told me. (maybe I was young and didn’t listen as closely??) But anyway, the thing that really made me want to send cards this year was the video on OWH and the one portion where the mom and her 2 kids had taped all their cards from their dad/husband on to the wall! I realized then how much these cards kept this family together and that the cards would be treasured for ages. Thanks for giving us a chance to bless someone with our cards.
Well stated!