Archaeological Attic

These are just some of the contents of this small wooden trunk Stacey found in the attic of the 'old' part of the house in Lakeland.

'History' and heartaches.

V-Mail that both interesting and heart-breaking.

In a V-Mail letter from North Africa dated May 23, 1943 - Dad writes:

"Dear Father, I got a letter from Helen the other day and she was telling me that they now have a service flag in Lakeland. I think that she said there were 51 stars on it. I didn't know that there were that many in the armed forces from Lakeland.

That flag must be pretty darned nice, where do they have it hanging?

I hope I can get back soon so I will be able to see it."

Mom & Dad were married on May 25, 1944 after the war had ended.

But what hits home with me the most about this discovery is how much I miss my Dad.

While I couldn't afford to fly to Kansas when he was fading away, I wish now that I had started walking there.

Maybe I wouldn't feel such regret today.

Odd thing is that he & I discussed the 'what ifs' before he went to Kismet again; but somehow I never expected to have such lingering regrets.

On the bright side, there are lots of wonderful letters from several generations.

The V-Mail is heart-wrenching. And I feel even more pride, if that's possible, for my Dad's service during WW II.

Love you, Dad.

p.s.

No matter how many different approaches I tried in editing this post, the photos are always in the reverse order that I had intended. So I've given up on that.
Is 'as is'.