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Originally Posted by manolos mom  It's so eye-opening to hear all of your stories as children of a military father. My parents met on the Island of Vieques, PR he was stationed there so when he fought 2 terms in Nam we lived with my Grandmother. He also fought in Korea. I guess I was sheltered from what was really going on in the States. My father was a DI in the Marines and retired a MasterSargeant. I have the most respect for our Vets. It's so hard to believe the way they were treated when returning home. My father did say he wished they could have finished what they started. I think not finishing the war was devasting to some. We moved back to the states I think around 1969. It was hard enough to witness the "Who cares that you fought for our country" attitude but reality hit when we moved to Richmond Va and I was shocked by the Civil Rights Movement. I had no idea this was going on. I was a 10 yr old. My grandfather was dark and my grandmother was very light skin, so I grew up in a mixed family in PR. Never knowing or looking at people different because of skin color. I could not understand why the Blacks lived on one side and the Whites on the other. I was very naive. My daughter graduates from Medical School in 2012 and will be a Capt/MD in the AirForce. My father started to cry when he found out she was accepted into MS. He was in her Commision Ceremony and Saluted her as an Officer. Very Very emotional. |
I had tears reading this and how beautiful for your father and daughter. Maybe that helped with closure for your dad...just beautiful. You know all of us were naive during this time. I think it is part of the age and part of what has always been. Change is not easy as the 60's proved but today there are young people that know about it from the history books but do not really have a concept of what it really was like.