. . .Thank a Veteran

It's Veteran's Day. This is my son. A Coast Guard Veteran.

My son followed his Grandfathers' footsteps. My Father, his Dad's Father, and his Dad's Grandfather. A very proud history. His Great Grandfather was awarded this little medal below.

The Distinguished Service Cross*

The gentleman with glasses, Einar Winfield Seastrand, is my husband's Grandfather, and an honest to goodness WWI hero. In France. 1918. He was a medic. He risked almost certain death and ran into open fire to drag fallen soldiers back into the trenches where he could treat them.
His citation was signed by General Pershing, under whom he served directly.

My own Father's portrait isn't here yet. I'll have to round one up and get it posted. I'm sure Mom can help me with that! Pop was in WWII. He was on the Victory Ship, Logan Victory. He was "Discharged at Sea" during the Battle for Okinawa. You understand, that means they sank his ship. He was taking a cigarette break and was up on deck when he normally would have been in the belly of the ship. He saw the Kamikaze's face . . . and his eyes as his plane struck the fatal blow to the ship. Pop tried to pull the Captain off the ship, but he wouldn't leave, and ultimately . . . sadly, he did go down with the ship. When Pop awakened, he was floating in the water, toward the island. He didn't know how he got there.

We have a very proud military history, and we are so very, very thankful to those who have served.

*{It's displayed in a sealed frame, the picture was taken through glass, sorry for the quality.}