Loose Laces

Last evening, I was thinking about something John (my dad) told me. He said during the 1930s and the Great Depression, his family was lucky. He owned three pairs of pants, and when he wore them all at the same time, you could still see his ass in five places.

He didn't think very highly of President Herbert Hoover.

They ate sawmill gravy poured over cornbread at nearly every meal. Sometimes they had fried potatoes and fresh milk. All that, his love for McDonald's food, and cigarettes are probably the culprits that killed him on February 19, 1986. He had just celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday on February 02.

When he was discharged from the Army after WWII, he had to pull 128 days in stockade for various offenses during his service. AWOL, fighting, and catching the Clap twice were on his resume. I am the result of an AWOL. He underwent the old "hot wire" treatment to cure the Clap. Dot (my mom) wasn't too proud of his service years, except for having me.

John was a paratrooper and earned a sharpshooter badge in basic training. He was supposed to make a jump into Italy with his outfit, but was hospitalized in England with a broken arm he received in a pub brawl; he was hell with his fists. I saw him take on a golden gloves champion ten years his junior and knock him cold within a few seconds.

He did recover in time to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded in the leg, arm, and face by shrapnel on January 09, 1945 while fighting in Belgium. That was the last duty at the front for him. I have his service medals, including his paratrooper wings, his sharpshooter badge, and his Purple Heart.

Last Labor Day, Carolyn and I visited his Army induction and indoctrination base in Fort Oglethorpe, GA, which is just outside Chattanooga, TN. First time I had been there since the early 50s, when he took us for a tour of the recently abandoned base. Most all that is left now are a few Quonset huts they used for barracks, and one building that is still used as a museum by the 6th Cavalry.

His outfit was the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, known as The Battling Buzzards.