Monday is Memorial Day when we honor those who have been lost in war. Thankfully, to my knowledge, none of my kin have ever been lost in battle, but they have indeed served during wartime. Normally, Inkwatu doesn’t cover personal things, but today’s post is a tribute to members of my family, living and dead, who have served in the military.
“Doughboy is an obsolete slang term for a United States Army infantryman, best known from its use in World War I, although it dates back to the Mexican-American War of 1846-48.” [ref]
My great-uncle Loren, pictured above on the left, is my favorite doughboy. It’s difficult for me to imagine this man on the battlefields of World War I, with its poison gas, trenches, machine guns, no-man’s-lands, and barbed wire. When I was young he always had a silver dollar in his pocket for me. (Remember real silver dollars? Those big, huge ones? Oh, how I wish I’d never lost those…would love to still have even one, now.) Later, Uncle Loren found me my first job as a highschooler playing piano in a roadhouse bar just outside the Marian penitentiary. So, today I fondly remember Uncle Loren, World War I, infantry veteran, doughboy.
When visiting Mississippi recently, I visited two cemeteries that are filled, primarily, with members of my family. One military headstone of my family is pictured here. It’s hard to read, but it says “Corp Alfred F. Jones, Co. C, Miss. Cav., C.S.A. (Corporal Alfred F. Jones, Company C, Mississippi Cavalry, Confederate States of America).
My father, from southern Mississippi, married a Yankee, for which his father really never forgave him. So my family spans both sides of the Civil War (or War Between the States as my father’s family would have said). I wish I had a headstone from the Union side of my family to balance things out, but I don’t think any of them served in that war…they were mostly preachers and such.
When I was a child there was more of a tradition of families visiting graveyards. This tradition is still strong in parts of the world. Just recently, the millennia old festival of quingming–the sweeping of graves to honor past ancestors–has enjoyed a revival in mainland China. In the American south, there is still a tradition of visiting graves on holidays. I think these are commendable practices. They help us see our place in the scheme of things.
There also used to be quite a tradition of handing out artificial poppies on Memorial Day. I remember from childhood seeing everyone sporting them on their lapels. I can’t remember when it was that I last saw that. Has the tradition been discontinued? If so, seems sad. Here’s a link to the story behind the Memorial Day poppy. It’s called the “Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy” and Miss Moina Michael is credited with beginning and popularizing the tradition.
I won’t bother you with headstones of all the parts of the family, but two parts represented here are my Uncle Sammy Jones (World War II–pictured above) and a couple of the Hiltons–pictured below. (I’m named after my paternal grandmother’s family name, Hilton.) For more information on living Jones clan serving in the armed forces, see Shalom!, on my sister’s blog (Lava to Lilikoi).
So, to all my military family, past and present,
a loving acknowledgment of your service.
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hilton, this is very nice and interesting. I wish you could see my paternal grandfather’s monument in Alabama.So many of the stones are quiet interesting and so different from today’s markers.
Hilton,
Thanks for including Sam (my Papa) in your article. I wish that I had listened to more he had to say about serving in the military and talking about the “Hump” in India, China and Burma. He talked about the Bridge over the River Kwaii. Uncle Joe was a POW also. They were heroes. Hope you enjoyed being in Miss. and got some of Cuz Don’s good cookin’.
Diane
Thanks, Diane.