Memorial Day and my Grandfather

I think for most of us born prior to 1996, we all had Grandparents who served in WWII. I was very close to my Grandfather. Milton Elliot Dorr was a very easy man to get close to. He was very kind and thoughtful. Always listened, always appreciated your company and was always there for you when you needed him. No questions asked and there was never any strings attached to his help. Or kindness.

He's the type of guy you wish you were. And that makes you appreciate the person he was because they only come around once in a blue moon.

He was my connection to that era and things like the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. He passed that down to my Mum so I ended up watching a lot of things stuff as a child and loving it. Especially the Marx Brothers.

Monty Python comes from my Dad watching it late at night and me taking it in through my sleep. So, between my Grandfather and my Dad, it really shaped up my sense of humor today.

My Grandfather also served his country proudly during WWII. He marched all the way from the boot of Italy all the way into the Lion's Den. And keep in mind this is a kid no older than 20 or 22 marching through the worst of conditions on foot.

At 33 I find it all unimaginable to go through all that. And he did and came back. He never considered himself a hero. He felt the men who gave their lives over there to serve their country were the real heroes.

THAT'S why that's the kind of guy I wish I was.

I'm sure it left mental scars but he never took it out on anybody. Given what he experienced over there, finding out that your brother died in a house fire while you're across the ocean and the kind of childhood he had which lacked any sort of love or family life would leave most people bitter and cynical.

Not my Grandfather. He was probably one of the most tender and family centered people I know. And I think a lot of it had to do with the fact since he didn't have that stability in his own homelife he was going to make sure he gave that sort of homelife to his own four daughters.

And the stories he told of his times during the war. But he never talked about the men he killed. He thought it was disrespectful to do that.

If you ever want to stop me, I'd be very happy to tell you what I can remember. But they'll never compare with the way he told them.

My Grandfather has been gone for nearly three years now. And there's not a day that goes by that I miss him. I realize I was very fortunate. A lot of people I talk with either never knew their grandparents or their grandparents were such thoughtless and bitter people they could never get close to them.

And I was both fortunate to know and be close to my Grandfather. And anybody who knew my Grandfather knows exactly what I'm talking about.

So, with that said, thank you Milton E. Dorr and thank you everyone who has served our country and given us the freedom we have today.