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Posted On: 05/14/2015
Set in the town of Boscawen, NH is New Hampshire's State Veteran Cemetery. Walking through the cemetery you can see the names of older Veterans who may have served in one or both of the two World Wars. This time seems much less tangible than the times of Vietnam and Iraq. The newer headstones feel more real than the old. It's almost whimsical to imagine our grandparents and great-grandparents with their war bonds and victory gardens, partaking in all night dance-a-thons, and those Rosie the Riveters working in factories to support their families with the men faraway. We seem so displaced from that era. When I hear of soldiers in WWII, I often recall a story I was told as a child, the time of the story telling is another factor for its whimsical nature:
Up in the tiny town of Lancaster, NH there was a large group of boys getting ready to be drafted. Some were just out of high school and others were still on the education track. It didn't matter their position, though. They were all ready to join the fight. But one of the boys, just as excited as the others, had fallen in love with a younger girl. The day before he was to be drafted, he met her in a park to say goodbye. She cried while he spoke to her though they were still only really acquaintances. Before he left, he kissed her on the cheek and said, "You're too young for me."
The young soldier left to serve in Guam. Some of the things he acquired were his educational pamphlets on the area as well as his training to be a good military man. He had to know all about the wildlife, the people, and enough about the terrain to acclimate to his station. The young woman, still home in Lancaster, worked hard at many jobs to help the boys overseas. This experience made her strong and a very versatile worker. However, in the midst of the nation's troubles the two of them still thought of one another fondly.
The young woman married a military man after the war, though his duties were still to the service. The two of them had four children, two girls and two boys. She was happy with her children but the marriage never fulfilled her. In love with the idea of a military husband, she still dreamed of the soldier who had left for Guam. Then about eight years into her marriage, her husband was killed in a helicopter accident on duty.
The soldier came home from Guam to his family to learn that many of his friends had died in service. He himself married as well but had no children. The world wasn't quite the same after the war or Guam and he immersed himself in manual labor. The war never changed his friendly disposition, however. He was the kind of man who would walk around town, talk to everyone, and get stuck in conversations for hours. Many years passed and his wife was killed in a tragic house fire.
Almost like kismet, he was reunited with the young woman he loved before the war. They bonded over their lost spouses and told stories of their lives apart from one another only to fall deeper in love than they were before. Shortly after reuniting, they married. The young soldier gained a hard working wife, four children, and soon a new daughter in 1965. His life was beautiful and he was so giving and kind, but suffered from muscular dystrophy and spent most of the rest of his life on disability. He relied on a Veteran Home before his death so he could receive proper care after his service to the country.
The two of them shared their stories about their love and how the war had affected it. Even after they moved away from Lancaster, they returned in their golden years. After their deaths, they left war memorabilia behind for their children to remember the effects of the war on their lives and today's world. The genealogy records and written letters uphold the memory of their existence and the whimsical quality of their union.
Being in the service really affects all of us, whether our families are heavily involved or not. The historical events of our past reflect the way we see the present and future, which is why it is important to remember our veterans who helped shape it all. Stay in touch with our blog next week for more Memorial Day postings!
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