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Sunrise at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego, CA
photo by Gloman, 2008
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Hi everyone, Katie here.
It's Veterans Day in the United States today. Glogirly and I are pausing to honor some very special people in our lives.
Although I never met him, Glogirly has told me all about her dad. He died just a year before I was born. He was Glogirly's hero. And until his last breath, she was his "little one." He was buried with a photo of the two of them in his breast pocket. She wrote, "I love you forever, Daddy. ~Your Little One" on the back.
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| Glogirly's Dad, Calvin Harms |
He fought in what's called the "Pacific Theatre." That is, he fought in a number of battles on the Pacific islands of Saipan, Tinian and eventually Iwo Jima. He was wounded on Iwo Jima when enemy shrapnel blasted into his foxhole. His foxhole buddy saved his life by throwing his own body on top of him. To Glogirly's dad, the real heros were the "boys that never came home."
Her dad rarely talked about that time, in fact after he told her that story he apologized...he had never meant to share that part of the war with her.
After her dad died at the age of 79, Glogirly found his address book. It was comforting to see his handwriting. There were many names she didn't recognize, but she called every single person in that book to tell them personally that her father had passed away. The most memorable phone call was with a man named Coy Shue.
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| Coy Shue & Cal Harms, US Marines 4th Division, 1942 |
Coy Shue was her dad's best friend during the war. They served together in the 4th Division of the US Marines. Glogirly had never met him, hadn't even talked with him until that phone call. He told her how much he had admired her dad. How he had been a great friend...how much they'd laughed. He was deeply touched by the call and he told her to never forget..."Your father was a hero."
Not long after that call, Glogirly received a letter from Coy's wife. She wrote to thank her for that phone call. She wrote that it had meant the world to her husband and would be something he'd never, ever forget.
Glogirly's dad isn't the only US Marine in the family. Gabe, Glogirly's stepson is a US Marine based at Camp Pendleton, California. Glogirly and Gloman are incredibly proud of Gabe.
Gabe wanted to do something very special with his life. He wanted to make a difference and serve his country. If Glogirly's dad were here he'd be SO proud.
He is just finishing his fourth year of service and we're all very excited to announce he will be coming home for good in just a couple of weeks.
I'm all ready for the big homecoming!
Yes, ladies...he's cute.
And yes...he likes CATS!
To all our veterans, we thank you for your service to our great country. You are ALL our heros.
~Semper Fi.
Dear Dad,
Your Little One misses you.
My dad was a Marine too. So was my mother's brother. He died in Vietnam. My brother was in the Navy.
ReplyDeleteThey all deserve much more than one day.
What a beautiful story. Thank you Miss Katie, for putting a human face on this special day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story. =)
ReplyDeleteMy human and I were very touched by your story of Glogirly's dad and his fellow Marines. Her stepson sounds like a impressive young man!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your family history its a wonderful story,its rememberence sunday here,xx Speedy and mum
ReplyDeleteWe're tearin up a little. What a great story and good-lookin stepson. Happy Veteran's day to all of you. XOXO
ReplyDeleteLovely Tribute. We remember over here too when we buy poppies for Poppy Day today. We salute all our veterans world over. Have a super Sunday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Damn you, you have me in bed crying at 7am! A lovely post. xo
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post dear friend. What a lovely tribute to your dad,
ReplyDeleteThis is an emotional day for us here, too..one of the things my father said before he died was how deeply felt was the loyalty to our country among servicemen. He was in the Marines and then the army (WWII veteran) for most of his life. God bless them all for what they did and are still doing for us.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your father's story.
Julie, Tom & the kitties
Katie, what a wonderful story about Glogirly's dad. Thank you for sharing it with all of us all this Veterans Day. And thank you to Gabe, for all he has done for our country. He is a true hero!
ReplyDeleteHow lovey this post was GG. So happy to hear about Gabe!
ReplyDeleteAm tearing up here! What a wonderful story. You must be so very proud! xx
ReplyDeleteThat was a beautiful tribute. We love all of our heros and are thankful for each and every one!
ReplyDeleteWe're teary eyed too. This is what it's all about. Never forget.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie, thank your mom for sharing a very personal piece of her life. And for including Coy Shue in it and his photo. A lot of people, of many races and nationalities fought to give us our freedom and a standard of living that we all take for granted. We remember your sacrifices, everyday. Thank you.
ReplyDeletewhoa! You're gonna have another human in your house?? While TW was a daddy's girl, she wishes she'd loved her daddy as much as GG loved hers. Her daddy came home from WWII an abusive alcoholic. He did really love cats and wouldn't go to bed at night unless he said goodnight to Chizzy. There's a really sad ending to this story that I won't go into publicly.
ReplyDeleteWe knew that Glogirly would have a wonderful story for today. Our Daddy and G'paw both served in the Navy, thankfully never in a war, though. Here's a 13-tail salute to all our veterans!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute, and a wonderful way to honor your veterans. You have moved us to tears.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful tribute to Glogirly's dad. We remember the veterans from both our countries.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story of your daddy and your step son!
ReplyDeleteOur hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for peace will never die.
Kisses
Nellie
Lovely tribute to your Dad and Gabe.
ReplyDeleteHappy Veteran's Day! Our Pop is a vet so he gets lots of extra cuddles today.
cats of wildcat woods
Mama got a little teary reading about the sweet relationship Glogirly had with her daddy. We just hope she knows (and we're she does) how blessed she is. Gabe too is a hero. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story. The Human's Dad was a Marine captain during WWII--he enlisted in 1940 before the US was in the war because he wanted to choose the branch of service instead of waiting to be drafted by the army. He trained at Quantico and served in the Pacific for two years, came home for a bit with malaria, and then went back for another year or so and then was sent to occupy Japan when the war ended. He ended up in Nagasaki, where the second bomb had been dropped only a short time before. Like Glogirly's dad, he didn't talk very often about the terrible stuff, but he told her tons about the camaraderie and the pranks and all that stuff. Her Dad died in 1984 and she still thinks about him all the time. XOXOXOXO
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute, and a wonderful way to honor your veterans.
ReplyDeleteXOXO
A lovely tribute to Glogirly's dad.
ReplyDeleteThe lady's father was in the army and was at Pearl Harbor (sleeping...inside Scofield barracks) when it was attacked. Needless to say, he woke up.
I think my dad spent much of his army time peeling potatoes. Concats on such a fabulous family. Any guy who loves cats is a great guy in our eyes, and then he serves his country voluntarily too!
ReplyDeleteWe gave you an award if you'd like to stop by and pick it up.
Such a touching story – thank you for sharing this part of your life with us, Glorgirly. I was especially touched with the photo of you that he was buried with. I can understand why he was such a hero to you and why you were so proud of him. He would be so proud of you too. Blessings to Gabe too, as well as to all the Veterans who have served our country –whether it be past, present, or future. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, wonderful story. May we all never forget the sacrifices paid that we might have the freedoms we enjoy today.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I love that post. I had cousins and great uncles who served in all theatres during World War II, including my great uncle who was a POW. I grew up in San Diego - a place where the military and those who serve our country are such a large part of the community. I salute your late father and I salute Gabe.
ReplyDelete