Veteran's Day - and Fathers -

Scott's oldest daughter has a son who is serving a 2-year LDS Mission in Northern California. I do my best to write him weekly; which means I've probably written 50 letters in the past 55 weeks. I don't know this grandson well, and my goal is for us to know each other just a little better when he returns home to Florida next July.

Today I wrote about his great-grandfathers, both who served in the military. I love these men; I honor them, and my nearly-son Cortney, for their service.

I’m writing on 11/11 – do you know the importance of this date? Today, 100 years ago, WWI ended. So tomorrow, we celebrate Armistice Day. While it’s a much bigger celebration and holiday in England and Germany, it is a day to honor veterans of all wars.

Did you know your great-grandpa Weaver served in WWII as a member of the Army. He was a driver for the company commanders; when a commander found out how educated he was, the officer made Grandpa his personal driver; this probably kept Grandpa from being in some pretty unsafe areas. Grandpa served in the Philippines and in Japan. My father, Clyde Walker, served in the Korean War. He had been running the family café and motel. His leaving was tough on the family, but it was important for him to serve. He was a chef on a munitions ship during the war. He spent time on the water and in Japan. Interestingly, he helped create an LDS branch for the military in Japan, and he stayed in touch with his Navy buddies all of his life. Those connections these men made were strong bonds. Even when my father died, some of his friends and their wives came to his viewing.

Neither Grandpa served an LDS mission, yet they served their country, and then both, upon retirement served missions. Gpa and Gma Weaver in Nauvoo (where Gpa shared his love for painting and drawing), and Gpa and Gma Walker in Hawaii (where at BYU-H Gpa ran the catering and cafeteria) and the Philippines.

We live in a beautiful world – I am so grateful for Heavenly Parents who created a world that was not only functional, but also beautiful. Both grandfathers loved this world, and loved their country. They served because of this love. They remained patriotic – remembering their time served and flying the flag whenever they could. Just a few months before my father died, my nephew, Dakota, had the opportunity to go through my father’s Navy trunk, filled with his Navy gear and mementos from the time he was in Japan. Dakota could fit into my father’s Navy uniform! It was a treat for us (and my dad) to see him in that outfit and to again hear stories from my father. Sadly, Great-Gpa Weaver didn’t talk about his time in WWII. G-Gpa Weaver said once that he wasn’t made an officer because he was “shipped out” just before going to officer school. I wonder how his life would have been different if he hadn’t had an education – would he have served on the front lines? And my father, after leaving the Navy, went on to a Chef’s school in California, where he learned the business side of running a restaurant, and taking that with his cooking abilities, went home to Idaho to open three other restaurants. All because of his time served and the GI Bill that paid for his education.

Well, that’s enough family history for today. I think it’s pretty cool that two men, living across the street from each other for 35 years, both served proudly. They both loved beauty, created art, cherished their families, and were staunch believers in democracy – the freedom to make choices and the responsibility to keep their country, and families, safe.