Veteran's Day used to be just another day on the calendar for me. I am ashamed to admit that. Some years I would even curse the fact that there was no school and I needed to arrange for a back-up child care arrangement for Nick. This year was different and every year going forward will be different too.
This year we truly began to understand what Ed's military career meant to him. At one point he was at the hospital with Bernie. One of the nurses figured out that he was a veteran and thanked him for his service. That simple display of gratitude made Ed's day.
Ed's wishes for his funeral were simple. He wanted red roses and to be buried with military honors. We were able to fulfill both requests. I had seen military funerals on television, but I had never witnessed one first hand. It was incredibly moving - all of it - from the playing of taps, to the folding of the flag and handing it to Bernie's mom, to the firing of the three volleys. Steeped in formality and tradition, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.
The military wasn't something Ed talked about very often. Unfortunately we don't know much about the 20+ years he spent in the Navy. I'm hoping at some point maybe his brother or someone he served with will be able to fill in the gaps.
If you have a veteran in your family, I encourage you to get the details of their stories while it is still possible. Case in point: my cousin found this awesome picture of my grandfather from when he was in the Navy, posted it on Facebook on Monday and thanked him for his service. Not posting the story behind the photo, led to some of my other cousins questioning what he did in the Navy, where he was, whether he was a pilot, and why the plane seemed to be named after him at least in part. Fortunately for us my grandfather was able to answer all of those questions.
My grandfather, Phillip Reifschneider, who is every bit as handsome today as he was in that picture, was a plane captain, not a pilot. Rip was a nickname, short for Reifschneider. They put the names of the plane captains on the planes they worked on. He isn't sure why it was done that way but it was. The marks on the plane represent the number of missions that the plane flew. He was on the aircraft carrier, USS Philippine Sea during the Korean War.
I get goosebumps now when I see uniformed military personnel on my flights. I hope they are going home to their families. When I can do so without seeming like a lunatic, I ask them where they are headed and what their work entails. I make it a point to thank them for their service. To Ed, to Grandpa, and to my veteran friends that are reading this blog: thank you for your service.
Our servicemen and women make incredible, selfless sacrifies every single day in order to protect our freedom, for that I am thankful, and not just on Veteran's Day.
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