The next morning I called my parents to check on the weather conditions in Pennsylvania. I told my parents we were in Fayetteville. My Dad was in the background. I could hear him talking fast and asking questions. He was talking about a museum and catalogs. Finally, my Mom handed him the phone.
My Dad served in the 82nd Airborne from 1948-1954. He served as a paratrooper and made 52 jumps in the US, Philippines and Japan. He was stationed in NC and GA for over three years. He spent 6 months in the Philippines and 18 months on Okinawa. My Dad asked if we could get him a catalog from the Airborne museum. I told him I did not know what our schedule was for the day but I would see what I could do.
I found information on the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. We drove to Historic Downtown Fayetteville and found the museum. It was great. The exhibits were excellent and the volunteers were friendly and willing to share stories. I bought my Dad a baseball hat with the 82nd Airborne logo. He loves his hat and wears it often.
Thursday July 1
My family and I went to a minor league baseball game. We stood in line waiting to hand in our tickets. The man collecting the tickets paused to talk to my Dad. My Dad was wearing his favorite hat. The man said, "82nd Airborne. Thanks for serving".
My Dad smiled and nodded to the man. Simple words of thanks that made an impact.
Happy 4th of July!
I posted a few of my Dad's pictures from the military in previous posts. Please stop by and check the out the photographs.