Today, I went to the funeral of my dearest childhood friend’s father. He was ninety years old and lived a good, honest, faithful life. My memories of him go back as far as memories go, and I could have told you much about him. I could have described his humor and some of his little idiosyncrasies. Like the fact that he started running for his health way back when nobody ran unless someone was chasing them.
I could have told you he was kind. And gentle. My mother reminded me he often came into the house from his farm chores just to sit for a little while and watch us play with our dolls. I could have told you lots of details. But today I learned something I’d never known. He was a hero.
Well, I knew he was a hero the way all fathers are heroes to their little girls (and to their little girls’ friends). I didn’t know that among other things, he earned seven bronze stars during battles in World War II. Seven. That is a lot of stars for one young man from a small farm in Missouri. When that information was read in the obituary today, I felt a swell of pride. I was proud to have known a man with that kind of valor. Proud to have sat at his kitchen table, to have slept under his roof, and to have played in his yard.
So, tonight, when I heard the latest war reports on the national news and considered the state of our troubled nation. I thought about Kermit Bane. And I wished I could see him one more time just to tell him, “I’m proud I knew you.”
There are fewer and fewer of that generation left to thank each day. I wonder if my Dad knew him? There were several "boys" from this area that enlisted around the same time, and many have already passed on. I say "boys" because I know my own Dad fibbed about his age so they would let him enlist. His Eisenhower jacket fit me perfectly when I was a senior in highschool, so that tells you a bit about the size they were at that time. They saw and dealt with things we only hear about on TV. Many didn't make it home to start families…
So I heartily join you in saying "I'm proud I knew you."
Wonderful tribute.
I didn't learn that until the funeral either, Kathy. He never talked about it. Thank you for this post. I want to write one for him too but I just haven't been able to do it yet.
Valerie Rosene
Oh, Kathy. I am just catching up on reading your blogs and this one caught me unaware, especially after going to my niece’s 44-year-old husband’s funeral today and watching his three sons from ages 16 to 21 (as of today) carry their father to his final resting place. I went to visit Daddy’s grave in the same cemetery afterward. I am so blessed to have him as a father. He was always my hero. I just didn’t know he was America’s hero, too. He rarely talked about what he did in the war. Thank you so much for this tribute.