Veteran's Day!

I first off want to start this post by thanking all the service men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military. I am humbled to think that I come from a family where all four of my grandparents served. My Pap Pap Bash served in the Air Force, my Grandma Bash served in the Army, my Grandma Smith served as WAC in the Army, and my Granddad Smith also served in the Army.

I wish I had a picture of each of them in their uniforms but unfortunately most of those are at my parent's house. I'll share what I do have. They lived through some of the most difficult times as WWII and the Great Depression took their toll on these families. Truly, the Greatest Generation!

For starters, my Pap Pap Bash......... 

My earliest memories of my Pap included him pinching my cheeks! I would give almost anything for him to do that again.....especially to my children. Pap Pap had a great love of music. He had a guitar and on many family get-togethers he picked it up and sang to us grandkids. My personal favorite was Uncle Noah's Ark. His claim to fame is that he once sang with Hank Williams Sr. Pap Pap was a fan of country music. I can tell you that Pap Pap loved kids! He loved having his entire family over for summer picnics and Christmas night. Everyone crowded into their humble 1 1/2 story home, eating and playing games. Pap Pap passed away when I found out I was pregnant with Rebecca, eleven years ago.

My Grandma Bash was raised as an only child in a Jewish home. This is her now. She is the short lady in the middle left of this picture. She is right in front of my very tall brother-in-law. So, you probably understand that our family is not one known for their tall stature!

Her parents came to America from Hungary. Grandma struggled with racism imposed by others which forced her to drop out of college. She is the most talented seamstress I know. This woman has more talent in her pinky than I have in my whole body. She made all of the bridesmaid dresses for my wedding, almost 17 years ago. Grandma now lives alone in an apartment. My dad visits with her at least once a week and makes sure her car is maintained.....yes she still drives! My Grandma has watched a daughter suffer through cancer that eventually claimed her life. Grandma and Pap had five children (see how that number is good in our family). Grandma has watched as her children had children and they had children. She is the mother of five, the grandmother to sixteen, and great-grandmother to twenty- eight!

My Granddad Smith was one of the kindest, quietest men I knew. He is on the right in this picture.

He and my Grandma married shortly after WWII and were only able to have one pregnancy, which resulted in twin girls! 

Granddad rarely spoke of the war. When he did, it was only the funny stories. We know little of his medals and details surrounding those stories. He earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and a few other medals. Granddad Smith was in the Army and fought several of the major battles.....Battle of the Bulge and he stormed the beaches of Normandy. He was overseas for 39 months without any contact with his family. Once while home on leave, he went AWOL. If he  did not stay home and help his father bring in the rest of the crop, they would lose it all. He chose to help his parents. The Army was happy to overlook his absence and he was later deployed to Africa and Europe. 


Grandma gave birth only eleven days after finding out they were expecting twins! The doctor suspected a very large baby or twins. An x-ray confirmed two babies. Mom and Aunt Joyce were born and like my dad, grew up in a humble home with lots of love.

One of my favorite pictures with him is this one.

This was taken on my 8th birthday. There had been a snow storm and we did not have electricity. When you live in the country and have well water and the power goes out, there is no water. So we went over to my grandparents to get showers and celebrate my birthday.

Mom married my dad and my Aunt Joyce married my dad's brother, John. Mom has five children and Aunt Joyce has four. We have many similarities within our families. Several birthdays are shared between us as well as extended relatives. My dad was drafted into the Army after being married only a few weeks. This was during the Vietnam War. He ended up at Fort Riley in Kansas where my two of my sister's were born. He received orders to go overseas but my grandmother wrote a letter explaining that Uncle John was already in Vietnam. My uncle offered to extend his tour and my dad was never deployed.

I would never want to forget Jeremy's grandfather who served in the Army. Pappy is pictured here on the far left. 

Pappy was truly like another grandfather to me. Unfortunately, this world lost a godly man only ten months ago. I have been dating/married to Jeremy since I was (gulp)....15. Just to be clear, our children will not date that young! So to give away my age, that is twenty-two years. I came to love this man and loved listening to his recollections of the war. I know that Jeremy was unbelievably close to this man. 

Jeremy looks and acts much like his grandfather. Both are quiet, humble, godly men.

Jeremy's dad served in the Air Force. (Again, I need to get their military photos!)

He was overseas in Thailand during the height of the Vietnam War. Jeremy's dad served this country overseas and never regretted going. His dad was stationed on a top secret base where Agent Orange was used to clear foliage. He also is very quiet on his experiences. We do know that he is quite fond of the Asian people and Mariah holds a special place in his heart.

Each of us have cousins currently serving and making a career out of the military. I cannot write this without mentioning my cousin Justin who is serving in his 18th year in the Air Force. Justin and his wife Heather visited us this summer here in our home. Justin is stationed in Cheyenne, WY.

Jeremy's cousin Stephanie also is serving. Stephanie is a Captain in the Army serving in the Reserves now in Grafton, WV. Stephanie has been deployed twice serving in the War on Terror. We have met up with Steph for dinner a few times when she is in Grafton for her weekend training. She helped me pick out a shelving organization unit for Mariah.

Thank you to everyone who has served or is currently serving in the military. Our freedoms are a result of the very difficult sacrifices that each of you have made. I have only mentioned a few that have served from our immediate families. Their service is truly that of selflessness. Thank you!!!