Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day 2014 – A Look Back

For my Memorial Day posting this year, I decided to focus entirely on my father.  Ronald Allen Myers was killed in action in Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945.  Sadly, I have no memories of him.  I was about 2 years 10 months old when my mother got the following telegram.


My dad was born in Jackson Michigan on April 2, 1911.  His parents were Frank J. Myers and Mary Ethyl Cerrow Myers.  He had an older brother Clifford.  Ronald met my mother, Elizabeth (Beth) Weed while he was working his way through college as a ‘soda jerk’ in a drug store.  My dad graduated from Michigan State College with a degree in Forestry in 1938.   Ron and Beth were married on January 5, 1939.

They didn’t have too much time together as the USA was at war with Japan as of December 7, 1941...followed shortly by Germany.  Because my dad had a degree, he applied for and was accepted at Officer’s School.  He was washed out because he was color blind.  After completing his training he was shipped out to Europe in 1945, where he served for only about 4 months before being killed.  He was buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery near the town of St. Avold France.

For some reason, my mother and my dad’s family never kept in touch…even though they lived in the same town.  Consequently, I know very little about him, his family or his life growing up. 


This is a photo of my mom Beth and my dad Ron with me.  This picture was taken in front of my grandmother and grandfather Weed’s house on Prospect Avenue in Jackson Michigan.  I’m guessing that this photo is from sometime in early 1943.


I was a little older in this photo.  I believe that this was the last photo I have of my dad and me…probably sometime in the summer of 1944.  He was shipped over to Europe in January of 1945…arriving only 4 months before the end of the War in Europe. 

Note: German forces surrendered in Italy on April 29, 1945.  A total and unconditional surrender was signed on May 7th, to be effective by the end of the day on May 8th.  Nevertheless, German Army Group Centre resisted in Prague Czechoslovakia until May 11th.   As I mentioned previously, my dad was killed on May 6th...


This obituary was taken from the Jackson Citizen Patriot Newspaper…
The electronic age does dish up some interesting connections…surprises that probably never could have happened back in the day when the internet and today’s information overload didn’t exist.

Recently I received a phone call from Mark…a historian with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  He told me that he’d been looking for me for some time and after finding my blog site with last year’s Memorial Day posting, he knew that he’d finally located the right person.

He had been contacted by Maureen from Corunna Michigan.  She’d been looking for me too…but had little success.  Prior to World War II, her father and my father had been close friends.  They’d also worked together at Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources as Conservation Officers.  Maureen asked for Mark’s help in finding me.  She had something from my father that she wanted to pass on to me.
 
After Mark found me he gave my information to Maureen and then he gave me her phone number.  When I called, she told me that she had a letter that my dad, Ron, had sent to her parents, Frank and Frances, during WWII.  Maureen felt that since her parents had held onto the letter all of these years, it indicated that my dad was very special to them.

This is the letter that her parents had been saving for all these years…





I thought that with the receipt of the letter to his good friend Frank and his wife Frances, this would be a good time to publish the last letter that my father wrote to my mother… You may notice that the tone of the second letter is a bit different than the one that he’d sent to his friends…

Note: If you enlarge the pages, you can read the lines that are creased...







What else is there to say…?  My dad died defending our…my freedom!  I just wish that he had lived long enough for me to know him.  Who knows where my life might have gone…what road I might have followed. 

We can never forget those who have died and suffered for us, for our way of life.  God Bless America and God Bless our heroes!

Just click on any of the photos or pages of the letters to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by…
 
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave


5 comments:

  1. How wonderful after all of these years that your dad's friends were able to get in touch with you and share these letters. I know they must mean a great deal to you. I was born while my dad was in the Philippines and I have a letter from him on my first birthday, before he had a chance to see me. Precious memories of brave men just doing their duty.
    Sam

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  2. Hello There, We just got home from a great week--which was a terrific 'healing' experience for me --as I recover from gallbladder surgery followed by that wicked infection... You'll have to check out my blog post today (if you haven't done so yet).

    Happy Memorial Day to you and yours... Let's never forget those men and women (past and present) who were/are in the Armed Forces and have done so much to give us the FREEDOM we have today. God Bless ALL of them and God Bless the USA.

    Your post made me cry.... Your Dad is one of so many who have sacrificed their lives for US.... AND---most in our country now don't appreciate it or them at all. Makes me sad... Thanks for an awesome post...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Such beautiful letters your father wrote. I am sorry that you did not get to know your dad and how heartbreaking to have your mom be a widow so young. Yet, she is blessed to have had a husband that loved her and you so much.
    I am sure your dad is very proud from heaven at the fine man you became and at the wonderful job your mom did.
    Thank you for sharing and for your dad's service.
    Blessings, Catherine

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  4. Thanks for posting this Dad. The letters and photos certainly speak for themselves. Grandma really did an amazing job dealing with this and still raising such a great son!

    David

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  5. Dave, you've brought me to tears with this post. Such a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

    This is what Memorial Day is all about...I am sorry you lost your father so young. But what a brave man. His story is admirable. His letters to Beth are so touching and also admirable. What a great man.

    It's amazing how after so many years, these letter found their way to you. It's a beautiful gift from Christ.

    God bless you Dave and your beautiful family. I hope you had a wonderful weekend together. I'd like to send hugs to you all.

    Toodles,
    Tammy<3

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