Armistice Day, or Veteran's Day as they now call it in the USA, the day we honor all who have served in our nation's armed forces, in peacetime or in war.
The Armistice, ending what we now refer to
as World War 1, was signed on November 11th. I can still that after we got the news, Bets
and I banged away on the piano in wild celebration (I would have been all of 8,
she would have been around 6).
Last Saturday, Elsa came home from shopping
with a card that she knew would tickle me.
It was a Veteran's Day card honoring those who served in the Navy.
I immediately thought of Jack Peddicord,
who served in the Submarine service during World War II. She had been thinking about Mike, who served in the US Navy in the early
1960s. I love Jack dearly and am proud
as all get out of him, but sent the card to Mike.
Some of you have heard my story about
Jack's stint on a submarine. It seems
that crews were so small, various sailors took turns doing mess duty. It can get pretty grim on morale when a
submarine is submerged for long periods of time.
Jack was doing kitchen duty during one of
these long stretches. The men were turning into a sorry bunch, with
not a smile among the whole crew. Jack
thought it would boost their spirits to have something a little special, so he
made the spiffiest dessert he could - jello with fruit cocktail.
He was pretty proud of his efforts and you
know what they say - pride goeth before the fall. Well, apparently he was focused on his giggly
concoction and not on where he was going because he tripped on a step leading
up to the mess and - kersplat! - his face landed smack in the big pan of
jello. When he brought his head up,
grapes and cherries and bits of pineapple and peaches were all over his
face.
Well, as Jack tells it, the crew went into gales of long-overdue laughter, so
Jack got the results he hoped for.
Michael, as I think I mentioned around
Memorial Day, served in the Navy during the Cuban Blockade. What a nail biter. It was a scary time, but none of us had any
idea how close to war we really and truly were.
Mike served on the USS Enterprise, the
largest aircraft carrier and the first to be nuclear powered. I still get chills remembering Mike talk
about a Russian ship that approached the Enterprise and how, when it got too
close for comfort, the sights (sites?) of the battle guns on the Big E's escort
destroyers raised up in preparation of firing.
The Russian ship backed away.
Those moments must have seemed an eternity
to the men on all the ships.
Love and hugs to one and all, especially
all the brave men and women of our nation's armed services, past and present.
Dona nobis pacem. - -
Kay Lockhart
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