More Dad, (I know I can't get enough)
Posted 24th April 2009 at 12:13 PM by ItsInTheCards
Dad would have been 71 on the 29th of April. That sounds so old. Thankfully I will always remember him much younger. He's been gone for close to ten years now, I guess. (That's him in my new avatar pic.)
As a means to survive, Dad joined the Navy. I've seen this picture over the years at the homes of different relatives. There were also pictures of Dad in a Marine Corp uniform floating around. I always wondered why he served in two different branches. I never knew the whole story until after he was gone.
You see, 16 is just too young to serve. But I was always told he was 16 in that photo. As I was packing up the things he left behind I discovered this paperwork in one of his many briefcases. The first page was his Naval enlistment paperwork. Next was his birth certificate. And last was a general discharge from the Navy. At first I didn't think much of it. I always knew he eventually became a Marine. Then I began to wonder why he received a "general" discharge.
Upon further investigation, it appears that Dad faked his date of birth on his enlistment papers. The birth certificate was a phony. I still have these items. They are now framed and sitting in my living room. A testament so-to-speak about his will to survive.
After he died, I was helping his sister plan the funeral and the subject of his "service" came up. I wanted to get a foot marker for his gravesite from the Marine Corp. His sister swore up and down that Dad was never a Marine. She said he was in the Navy, but only for a short time. When I brought up the pictures she said they were not him, but some other family member. Now my Dad was a lot of things, but a liar was not one of them.
After I returned from the funeral I was talking to a friend about this. This friend is a former Marine and asks me for Dad's social security number. He made a phone call and informed me that I was right. Dad was in the Marines. He was honorably discharged. How could his sister not have known this is beyond me. But I got this information too late. He never has gotten the marker for his gravesite.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad! Me and the boys miss you terribly.
As a means to survive, Dad joined the Navy. I've seen this picture over the years at the homes of different relatives. There were also pictures of Dad in a Marine Corp uniform floating around. I always wondered why he served in two different branches. I never knew the whole story until after he was gone.
You see, 16 is just too young to serve. But I was always told he was 16 in that photo. As I was packing up the things he left behind I discovered this paperwork in one of his many briefcases. The first page was his Naval enlistment paperwork. Next was his birth certificate. And last was a general discharge from the Navy. At first I didn't think much of it. I always knew he eventually became a Marine. Then I began to wonder why he received a "general" discharge.
Upon further investigation, it appears that Dad faked his date of birth on his enlistment papers. The birth certificate was a phony. I still have these items. They are now framed and sitting in my living room. A testament so-to-speak about his will to survive.
After he died, I was helping his sister plan the funeral and the subject of his "service" came up. I wanted to get a foot marker for his gravesite from the Marine Corp. His sister swore up and down that Dad was never a Marine. She said he was in the Navy, but only for a short time. When I brought up the pictures she said they were not him, but some other family member. Now my Dad was a lot of things, but a liar was not one of them.
After I returned from the funeral I was talking to a friend about this. This friend is a former Marine and asks me for Dad's social security number. He made a phone call and informed me that I was right. Dad was in the Marines. He was honorably discharged. How could his sister not have known this is beyond me. But I got this information too late. He never has gotten the marker for his gravesite.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad! Me and the boys miss you terribly.
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