Sunday, May 30, 2004
THE GREATEST GENERATION
This Memorial Day is exceptionally special to me. This Memorial Day we finally pay homage to my grandparents' generation, The Greatest Generation, and the ultimate defenders of the Free World.
Nana became my grandmother when I was 7 years old, and she continues to be an inspiration even after her death eight years ago. Barely five feet tall, she exuded independence long before it became fashionable for women to do so.
Nana was born into a long-established Southern Delaware family before the dawn of the First World War. Once her basic education was complete, Nana saw limited prospects for a young woman of her generation with modest financial resources. So, she did what any young woman in her predicament might have been tempted to do. She sought advice from the wisest, most respected woman of her day - First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Mrs. Roosevelt responded with a sincere, thoughtful letter, suggesting that Nana attend Nursing School and consider a career in the Army as a Nurse. So, Nana did just that - she packed up and headed north to Chestnut Hill Nursing Academy in Philadelphia. She then joined the Army as a nurse, and was already enlisted long before the first Japanese bombers flew into Pearl Harbor.
Nana spend most of the War years in England and Scotland, working in military hospitals for the Allied Forces. Along the way she met and married a fellow soldier from Oregon. The marriage wouldn't last long, but a daughter was born - my Mom, Jennifer.
The war and her brief marriage over and with a baby to raise, Nana made the decision to continue her service in the Army. She was stationed on Indian Reservations for many years, providing healthcare to the various Indian Nations that are scattered throughout the Southwestern United States. Eventually she and Jennifer found their way to Houston, where Nana spend the remainder of her working life working in the Texas Medical Center.
Nana was a pioneer among women. Not only was she a career woman, but with a military career; a single mother long before it was commonplace; a woman who throughout her life displayed the independent spirit that the women of my generation take for granted.
A few years ago, the Women in Military Service Memorial was opened in Arlington National Cemetery. Nana didn't live long enough to see it opened, but thanks to the efforts of my Mom, she is one of the Original Inductees. You can visit the Women in Military Service here.
This weekend marked the openening on the National Mall of the WWII Military Service Memorial. It is not only right that we pay tribute to the Greatest Generation, it's a travesty that we have not done so before now.
Way to go, Nana. I thank you for making this world safer for me, as an American, and as a woman. I truly miss you.
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Nana became my grandmother when I was 7 years old, and she continues to be an inspiration even after her death eight years ago. Barely five feet tall, she exuded independence long before it became fashionable for women to do so.
Nana was born into a long-established Southern Delaware family before the dawn of the First World War. Once her basic education was complete, Nana saw limited prospects for a young woman of her generation with modest financial resources. So, she did what any young woman in her predicament might have been tempted to do. She sought advice from the wisest, most respected woman of her day - First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Mrs. Roosevelt responded with a sincere, thoughtful letter, suggesting that Nana attend Nursing School and consider a career in the Army as a Nurse. So, Nana did just that - she packed up and headed north to Chestnut Hill Nursing Academy in Philadelphia. She then joined the Army as a nurse, and was already enlisted long before the first Japanese bombers flew into Pearl Harbor.
Nana spend most of the War years in England and Scotland, working in military hospitals for the Allied Forces. Along the way she met and married a fellow soldier from Oregon. The marriage wouldn't last long, but a daughter was born - my Mom, Jennifer.
The war and her brief marriage over and with a baby to raise, Nana made the decision to continue her service in the Army. She was stationed on Indian Reservations for many years, providing healthcare to the various Indian Nations that are scattered throughout the Southwestern United States. Eventually she and Jennifer found their way to Houston, where Nana spend the remainder of her working life working in the Texas Medical Center.
Nana was a pioneer among women. Not only was she a career woman, but with a military career; a single mother long before it was commonplace; a woman who throughout her life displayed the independent spirit that the women of my generation take for granted.
A few years ago, the Women in Military Service Memorial was opened in Arlington National Cemetery. Nana didn't live long enough to see it opened, but thanks to the efforts of my Mom, she is one of the Original Inductees. You can visit the Women in Military Service here.
This weekend marked the openening on the National Mall of the WWII Military Service Memorial. It is not only right that we pay tribute to the Greatest Generation, it's a travesty that we have not done so before now.
Way to go, Nana. I thank you for making this world safer for me, as an American, and as a woman. I truly miss you.
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