My Grandfather, Caleb Dooley, served in the Civil War. Not too many people around who can say that.
My Father served in WWI. He was too young to enlist, but somehow was taken in to the Army. 42nd Rainbow Division from Indianapolis, Indiana.
My Brother was in WWII, Submarine Service, served on the S-11. He was a Lt.J.G in the US Navy. He went through a V-12 Program. I remember going to Great Lakes in Chicago to visit him during his training. Going to a Sunday Morning Church Service at that large Chapel they had, stands out in my mind. I have never forgotten the sermon the Chaplain gave that morning, it revolved around a poem about the Bridge Builder. It is worth repeating here.
THE BRIDGE BUILDER
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim-
That sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when he reached the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength in building here.
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head.
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
I have never forgotten that Chapel Service, had a lasting impression on me.
I was in the Korean War, 1952 to 1956. Stationed at the Receiving Station in San Diego, California and also did a two year tour on the U.S.S. William T. Mitchell, TAP 114. She was a transport ship, home port, Seattle Washington, and we primarily took troops and passengers to Japan and Korea, and also brought them home on the return trip.
I had one son who served in the Navy during the Viet Nam conflict and another who served during Desert Storm.
It's rather sad that WAR and CONFLICT HAVE become such a big part of our lives. Peacetime has become short lived. I suppose there are some who don't know the meaning of that word, it has never been used during their lifetime.
Veterans Day, 2009.
