| | I WISH I COULD HAVE THANKED HIM!! Yesterday, in the Illinois State Journal, they had an article about a prisoner of war memorial in Springfield. It had a picture of Amy Phillips (weeping) and her son, at the event, and it tugged at my heartstrings. I wrote the following letter to her this morning::::::::(I've eliminated the names of towns in the letter to her, for this post. Dear Amy, You and I don't know each other, but I just wanted to respond to the article in the Journal this morning, concerning your Father. I never knew him, personally, either, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate what he did, in order that I can live the peaceful life I live in a FREE country. I don't have words to convey just how much, but I feel very deeply about this. I was a child, during W W II and remember how afraid I was, just knowing there was a big war going on. I remember being afraid when I would see several planes flying over in a group and wondering if they were flying toward the war. I can't even IMAGINE how afraid HE was, being in a prison camp, in a foreign country, with people who hated us. Since he just died in 2005, he couldn't have been much more than a kid himself!! In the early 1940s, (I just turned 74 yesterday) I went to a local Grade School, near you, and on certain days....maybe once a week, we had the opportunity to buy U.S. Savings Stamps to put in a book, (I think they were 10 cents each) and when it was full, I think it cost $18.00. If I remember correctly, on maturity, twenty years later, it was worth $25.00. Lots of money to us in those days. I wasn't going to write this next paragraph, but when I told my daughter, she encouraged me to. ...... In 1956, when Dale was born, we had no insurance. He was born in T-ville Hospital. By that time, the bond had matured, and I cashed it to help pay the hospital bill for his birth. (Dale is a local farmer and the president of the fire board in your town.) I live on a farm, about 6 miles from you and my phone # is ________ . Some time, if you have time, I'd love to talk to you, more about your father. Well, Amy, I went farther with this letter, than I intended, but again, I just want to tell you how VERY MUCH I appreciate what your Father and many other young men did for me and my country. God Bless You, Carolyn ________ (and it’s in my mailbox, waiting for the postman) So many times, maybe on Veterans Day, or Memorial Day, I would LOVE to just have the opportunity to thank someone individually. Well, her Father is now deceased, but maybe it will help her, to know someone cared enough to say “Thanks”. I hope so, anyway. Granny |
