Irony and Veteran's

William H. Danos died on June the 10th of 1955...just two days short of his 25th birthday. He served our country in two branches of the service. When he was very young, too young to be in the service, only 15 at the time. He joined the Marines...Just short of his 17th birthday, they found out how old he really was and honorably discharged him. He waited a year until his 18th birthday and joined the Navy, where he served his country until he was 22. Home on leave, he met my mother.

This handsome man was my father. I never knew him as I was 9 months old when he died.

We have a traveling Veterans Memorial here in Sandy, Oregon for the next few days. I stopped to take pictures this afternoon. I have the flag from my fathers casket...my mother did not take very good care of it, so it is somewhat tattered. I asked one of the gentlemen at the memorial if he knew where to get it folded, as I want to put it in a glass case for protection. He told me to come back at 7:00pm and they will do a ceremonial folding for me. Of course I cried and thanked him profusely.

My father was hit by a drunk driver and shortly thereafter died at the hospital. The irony is, he was hit by a drunk WAC who was never punished for the crime of taking my father's life. Irony at it's best....he served his county, but one of his own took his life.

I often wonder how my life would have been different, had he not been killed. But I believe in fate and it was not meant to be for him to be with me. My mother mourned my father's death until the day she died....44 years later.

The other ironical thing is....my husband of nearly 36 years and I were married on Veteran's day...November 11, 1972.

So, irony and Veteran's have been part of my life for all of my life.

Anett