On Nov 11, 4:28*am, "jmcquown" > wrote:
> ntantiques wrote:
> > On Nov 10, 1:36 pm, "jmcquown" > wrote:
> >> cshenk wrote:
> >>> "jmcquown" wrote
>
> >>>> It is the United States Marine Corps 223rd birthday today. Semper
> >>>> Fi and thanks to all who serve. Salute to my father who died March
> >>>> 2, 2008 after 30 years of active service in the U.S. Marines,
> >>>> through WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
>
> >>> Semper Fi to my brother service! 233 years and going strong! HOOAHH!
>
> >> My hat's off! I found my father's military dress sword in the cedar
> >> chest. We still don't know what he did with all his medals. I've
> >> only found one purple heart. His bronze star, his silver star, all
> >> the other stuff... he managed to hide away so that no one can find.
>
> >> Jill
>
> > Jill, don't give up, they could surface. A few years before he passed
> > away my Dad asked for me help clearing his garage. We ran across an
> > old footlocker - Dad couldn't remember what was in it so we opened it
> > and found a bunch of moth eaten Army blankets destined for the dump.
> > Nearly missed a ratty old wadded up paper bag in the bottom *- yep,
> > there were the medals. *Evidently he'd stashed them there years before
> > for safekeeping during a move and had forgotten where they were.
> > Brought tears to his eyes when I found them and to mine when he gave
> > them to me.
> > Boy, do I miss him.
>
> > DH, a Viet Nam era Marine vet, is fortunate to still have his Dad, a
> > retired Marine Colonel. *They had their annual USMC Birthday chat
> > first thing this morning.
>
> > Semper Fi and a heartfelt salute to your Dad
>
> > Nancy T
>
> We've looked everywhere, Nancy. *Last August (before I got here) he had my
> brother and a contractor bring all sorts of boxes down from the attic to
> throw away. *I sincerely doubt they took the time to go through the boxes.
> It's entirely possible his other medals wound up at the dump. *I've found
> empty boxes that the medals came in. *He was suffering so from Altzheimers
> he probably didn't even realize what he'd done with them.
>
> I'd purchased display-case style tables years ago to put them in after he
> told me I was to receive all his military items. *I am very proud of my
> father's service to the U.S. *I'll be keeping all of his ribbon pins, of
> course. *And his eagles from when he was made a full bird Colonel.
>
> I wonder if it would be possible for me to get replacements (not "replicas")
> based on his service records. *I'll have to call the base to inquire. *I've
> got his discharge papers so they might be able to do that. *However, I do
> know there's a lot of forgery that goes on. *My father was furious about
> people imitating military veterans who had no right to call themselves such.
>
> Jill

Damned Altzheimers. We lost my Dad's second wife to heart failure
almost a year to the day after he died, just after she began to shift
into the more serious stages of Altzheimers. Know how tough it is.

My FIL was a career Marine officer and retired a bird Colonel in
1964. He still lives and breathes the Corps and don't even get him
started on the subject of fraudulent veterans - yikes. Would bet
money he and your Dad crossed paths at some point. Small world.

Nancy T