Friday, January 9, 2009

My Great Grandpa Ernest & a family reunion


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My Great Grandfather Ernest was in the Air Force and served in the Korean war. He passed away and his interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was held today. It was a beautiful service with military honors. It was so humbling to be in that cemetery. The grounds extend on and on as far as one can see. One poignant remark by my little cousin Maggie was "Why can't everyone just get along?" Explaining death to a child is hard enough, add in politics and I think the task just might be impossible.

Edit: a note from my Uncle Peter... "FYI Your great grandfather was the veteran of three wars. Serving in North Africa in WWII, Okinawa in Japan during the Korean War, and here in the states until 1969 during Vietnam. He would have stayed in longer, but that meant he would have had to go to South East Asia, he said no."


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After the services, we all headed to my cousin Ann's house for an impromptu family reunion. It was the first time we had all been in the same room since I was itty bitty. We had a really nice time, telling family stories, remembering Ernest and his contributions to our family. In all, it was just how a memorial should be, a celebration of someones life.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What an awesome way to celebrate your great grandfather!