There are veterans who have served in our nation’s wars who only reluctantly offer comments on their war time experiences and for many, rightly so since some have had experiences that are best forgotten. But there are others who enjoy sharing their war stories with friends and especially with family members. Then there are some of the tales that get better with time and are repeated so often that we already know the ending of the story at least most of the time. One listener to such stories was a grandson whose mind seemed to take in every detail of his Grandpa’s stories with a surprising outcome.
Grandpa unlike most of his peers served in the US Navy during WWII on an aircraft carrier. He was not involved with the airplanes, ammunition, takeoffs and landings but his duties were carried out down below the carrier’s deck where the business details were handled such as inventory, payrolls, receipts and vouchers- all necessary since it was government business and such business was notoriously numbers conscious.
Although a ‘pencil pusher’ he was always aware of the role the ship played in the Pacific war against the Japanese. When the ship was on red alert, every crew member had a combat assigned role even for bookkeepers. And he has stories to tell of attacks on his home on the sea when fanatical dive bombers (Kamikaze) made suicidal attempts to sink the pride of the American fleet, the ultimate enemy asset, a sunken carrier. Fortunately their efforts failed, but the stories live on. The grandson relived every encounter vicariously remembering the stories as part of his own experience.
One story surfaced in his life when the grandson was sent by his company to do business in the Philippines, Manila to be exact.
Even before he arrived at his destination, he remembered a story that this Grandpa had told him about a meeting he had in Manila at the end of the War with a most unlikely acquaintance, a relative who was from the same small South Carolina town, Lake View. He knew his uncle was stationed in that part of the world but the likelihood of meeting him was remote except by sheer chance, so guess who happened to be his guest for Christmas dinner, 1945, a Wild Gator.
The story continues however. The grandson was in Manila and after all those years, he recalled the story his Grandpa had told him, recalling some of the details of the actual places he had visited with his uncle as a WWII seaman. There were several governmental buildings/installations mentioned in the story that he was able to visit and to photograph for a very special reason.
When he returned to the States, he arranged to visit with his Grandpa (near Christmas) and what a surprise he had for his forebearer. After warm greetings, the grandson pulled out the pictures of some of the places mentioned in the WWII story told by his Grandpa and memories of 65 years ago came flooding back along with a tear. What bittersweet moments for both the two bearing the same last name: Hayes.
Now I might ask what is your most memorable (happy or perhaps sad) Christmas story. Was it a long sought-after gift, a marriage engagement, the birth of a child during the holiday season, the bitter disappointment of rejection or failed promises, the gathering of family or some personal private story?
Everybody has a story.
”When Time, who steals our years away
Shall steal our pleasures too,
The mem’ry of the past will stay,
And half our joys renew.” – Thomas Moore
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