An Overdue Honor for Dad Just in Time for Christmas

In 1964, when I was just eight years old, my uncle Tim passed away. He was a carpenter and roofer, and an avid hunter, fisherman, and farmer. We spent many days at his farm, and I liked helping him so much that he made me a pint-sized green wooden wheelbarrow and spray-painted my name in cursive on the sides — in gold. How I loved his garden, which was where he would mostly be when our family arrived. Sometimes, he waited for me in the rhubarb patch with a bowl of sugar. With his knife, he’d cut off some stalks, and then we’d dip them in the sugar and eat while sitting in the sun, talking. I adored that man. 

A Veteran Footstone Lends Respect

After he died, when we went to the cemetery on Memorial Day to plant, during the summer to weed, and in the fall to clean, I admired Uncle Timmy’s bronze veteran marker, commemorating his service as a Sergeant in the 356th Fighter Squadron of the US Army Air Forces during WWII. The brass footstone looked regal on his grave, and as I grew older and understood exactly what it stood for, it added a degree of importance, causing me to give it even more reverence and respect.

Why Didn’t Dad Have one?

In 2004, after my father died, when I visited the cemetery, I wondered why he didn’t have a veteran footstone too. He was a Staff Sergeant in the 30th Photographic Squadron of the US Army Air Forces during WWII. We have pictures of him and Uncle Timmy together on European soil when their units were actively serving in the same place.

If You Don’t Ask, You’ll Never Know

After years of wondering why Dad didn’t have a footstone, this year I decided to give him one.  Right after my Memorial Day visit to the cemetery, I emailed Colizzi Memorials and asked how much it would cost to have one made. The owner read my email, and using the phone number from my email signature, he called me back right away, saying that there was no need for me to buy one, because if my father was honorably discharged, the marker should have been ordered at the time of his death. “Was he honorably discharged?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. And then some. And the Veterans’ Service Officer spoke at his funeral.”

“God bless you, sweetheart. Call the funeral home and let them know that I told you to call and inquire. They’ll take care of you,” he said.

The Process Was Long but Worth It

The funeral director, who was very apologetic, asked for my father’s military discharge papers, which thankfully, I had, along with a picture of Uncle Timmy’s marker, because I loved it so much. Right away, I scanned and emailed everything he needed, and to my surprise, the application was completed and sent within a couple of days. The funeral director warned me that the process for the bronze marker was a bit different than for a granite one, but in either case, it would be at least four months until it arrived. I told him I didn’t care whether it was granite or bronze — I just wanted my dad to have his marker. He said that if the bronze marker was what I liked, then the bronze marker was what I’d get.

Dad Wears His Honor Well

It took a little longer than expected, but six months later, my father’s bronze footstone is on his grave, and it looks beautiful.  Merry Heavenly Christmas John Leonard MacDougall. Somehow, I know you’re smiling down from Heaven. You wear the honor well.

Until Next Time,
Jean AKA The Strategic Chicken - Making Life’s Journey One Strategic Step at a Time