A Tribute to my Father on Veterans Day

I have thumbed through these scrapbooks many times. My dad meticulously kept memories of his twenty one years in the Coast Guard, including a 1939 letter from the Treasury Department requesting his father's authorization to join, his uniforms, all the ship passes, training certificates, and recognition awards for serving in WW II and the Korean War. He never discussed a lot of it, but there are internet accounts of his convoy in North Africa on the USS Newell. The engine room was not a good place to be with ships exploding around you. The doors below were shut tight, which would mean a certain fate. As a youngster, I do remember visiting the floating vessels when they were in port, and how he became animated when he saw Battleship Cove in Fall River on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. I know he loved the water. He traveled all over the world, and retired to Florida when I was in second grade. The funny thing is that there are photos of him and his buddy in Washington - where we live now, and he trained in Beloit and Manitowoc Wisconsin - we lived in Milwaukee thirty years. He loved the Coast Guard and the time he spent in it. He just turned ninety-five, and doesn't remember a whole lot any more. But when he hears the music of his day, he becomes animated all over again. Happy Veterans Day Dad.