Today is Veteran's Day--"the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"--the end of World War I, the one that was supposed to end them all. Well, that hasn't happened.
But today is also a commemoration of something much earlier than 1918. Today is the Marine Corps Birthday. I have many memories of the birthday balls that my mom and dad went to. Mom always made a beautiful formal gown for the event, and Dad always wore his dress uniform. But the one I remember the most was really the funniest.
My dad had enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941, before Pearl Harbor, but after his 17th birthday in October. He had graduated early from high school the previous June (age 16), and his parents had given permission for him to join the Corps. He worked his way up through the ranks, and after being a Master Sergeant for the requisite time, he was promoted to Warrant Officer. That was a big step up because now he was no longer enlisted or a staff NCO (non-commissioned officer), but he was an OFFICER. That meant new uniforms, new insignia, and a SWORD. Now his dress uniform was no longer dress blues but whites!!
It was a really big deal the first time he got to wear them to the Marine Corps Ball at El Toro in 1959. Mom had made a gorgeous green satin sheath with a matching cape and she was stunning. I remember Dad going out to the driveway with a sheet to cover the seats of our Ford Falcon so that she wouldn't snag her dress and he wouldn't smudge his whites. They left for the dinner and dance and we were with a babysitter. The ball was lovely, and mom was so proud to go as an officer's wife to the party at the officer's club instead of the NCO club.
The next day one of the neighbors saw Mom out in the yard and asked her when Dad had started working a second job at Disneyland. She was dead serious, and Mom was livid. Apparently the neighbor had seen only Dad in his whites in the driveway from across the street, and she had assumed he was now working in the sanitary department (following the horse-drawn carriages on Main Street with a shovel and barrel) at the amusement park. Suffice it to say, Mom never spoke to her again:)
I have to say again how proud I was and still am of my dad who served his country from 1941 to 1961 in the United States Marine Corps. He was an honorable soldier who was decorated for his service. He received a Purple Heart for injuries received in the South Pacific campaign. He landed on Guadalcanal when he was 18 and fought up the island chains. He was a drill instructor at Parris Island, and a supply sergeant in Okinawa and Barstow. He retired from the service in November of 1961 as a W-2 grade Warrant Officer. He taught me the manual at arms, the ranks of service, and the general orders of the day as well as all the verses of the Marine Corps hymn practically as soon as I could talk. I can remember sitting on the couch with him as he was reading a book, and when I asked him what he was reading he said he was studying to be a tech sergeant.
I love my dad very much and miss him still. He would have been 85 on October 20. He died much too young.
4 comments:
thank you so much for sharing that story. We've never heard that one before. And I can well envision Grandma never speaking to the neighbor again!
Thank you Mom! I always like hearing stories about Grandpa.
I'm grateful that you've told us so many stories about him over the years because even though I haven't met him (yet) I feel a connection to him.
I'm excited to sit down and talk with him someday :D
Keep it up Gramma. I've never heard these stories.
ESS
Thank you for sharing this. I wish I could have known him, I just have to imagine that he would have been such an amazing Grandpa and Great-Grandpa. I'm with Tom, I've always felt close to Grandpa Munt and can't wait until we get to chat again.
Maybe your "Flashback Friday" posts should be stories like this...it's lovely.
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