USS Newell and My Dad’s Coast Guard Scrapbook

My mom passed away last month. She was 97. It’s hard to believe she was 97! My dad passed away in 2015 at 95. This time we all needed to go through and keep all the mementos that we cherished before handing the house over to the next door neighbors who cared for mom the last few years. Both my parents were in the military in WWII. Mom had a great Navy scrapbook and Dad had two well documented Coast Guard scrapbooks. We think we will be donating them somewhere but haven’t figured it out yet. We have dog tags and medals, and even an officer’s well preserved jacket. There is also a letter from 1939 requesting special permission for dad to enlist from his father because he was underage. The history of the USS Newell is well documented, but my dad never talked about it. He was in the engine room and their convoy took direct hits. He always said he would never take a cruise across the Atlantic because they made several during the war to North Africa and the Mediterranean. The photographs tell a story in time - we especially like the Washington DC and Wisconsin items. He was very proud of his twenty one years in the Coast Guard. His story is a great one to tell. 

The Mayflower Moving Van Leaves an Empty House

It finally happened. My husband stood on the sidewalk - mouth agape. We knew they would be moving, but to see the truck actually piled with furniture and memories was a little hard to swallow. For those leaving they are looking forward to new adventures. For those staying behind it feels a little lonely. One of the major reasons we moved to DC from Wisconsin was to be near our grandson and his family and try to be of help if and when our son was deployed, and any time in between. That happened three times over the last eleven years. Now our army surgeon son has retired and is living the new civilian life in Virginia. Obviously we wish them the best and we may even see them more now that they have actually moved three and a half hours away. Our neighbors in Wisconsin said they felt the same way when we packed up and left after thirty years. I remember them waking up very early and waving from their front window as we pulled out of the driveway. The contents put in that truck left a very empty house. Each room was well known to us and filled with good people. The neighborhood will never be the same.