Memories.....of the way we were

One day while I was at my parents' house over Christmas, I pulled out a bunch of old pictures and started looking through them. Many of the pictures were ones I had seen before. I love looking at old pictures. Buddy and I had a fun time laughing at pictures of my parents when they were dating and newly married. They got married in 1976, so you can imagine what the clothes and hair styles looked like. Some of the pictures I had seen so many times before, and since I've heard the stories, it's almost like those pictures are "memories" for me. Especially pictures of my Grandpa, my mom's father. He died when I was just a little bit older than Quinn, so I do not remember him at all. Because I've seen pictures and heard stories about him, I feel as though I have memories of him.

There was one box of pictures that we went through that I had never seen before. In this box were a lot of pictures of my grandmother and her sisters. They were all pretty close in age, so there were a ton of pictures of them as young women, looking like 1940's models! But in this box I found some pictures of my grandparents, two of which I had never seen.

This is my Grandpa, taken around 1943 or 1944. My Grandpa joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Shortly after that, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland, and later to the Pacific. He spent the majority of his time overseas on the island of Okinawa. He drove PT boats, the little ones that take the sailors from the big ship to the mainland. When they were at the naval base, Grandpa was the chauffeur for the Admiral! This is his official Navy portrait.



This is my Grandma. I had never before seen this picture. She didn't remember exactly when this was taken, but I figured it must have been the same time Grandpa had his picture made. The background is the same, and on the back of the pictures, the name of a photography studio is the same. So this is probably also from 1943-1944.



This next picture is another one I had never seen before. This is Grandpa, on what we think is Okinawa Island, although we aren't sure. Grandma said he was on several islands, but was on Okinawa the most. You can see the palm trees in the background as well as some of the military vehicles. I cannot wait to meet this man when I get to Heaven. While I am most looking forward to seeing my Lord, I am also looking forward to seeing Grandpa! I was the only grandchild he ever met in person (another cousin had been born, but he never saw her), and from what they tell me, I was his pride! He was a good man and he loved the Lord. (And yes, he was tall, as you can see from this picture).



This final picture is probably my most favorite of all the old pictures. This picture is another one of my Grandmother. Grandpa carried this picture with him the entire time he was in the war. Grandma and Grandpa grew up together in the same neighborhood, went all through school together, and were high school sweethearts. She told me that they would pass each other love notes in the hallway at school! They were married over 40 years until Grandpa went home to Heaven. But he carried this picture with him every day that he was gone from her! Isn't that sweet?

I love learning about my family from old photographs. I love seeing what family members looked like when they were kids and young adults. I love hearing the stories behind the pictures. It makes me feel close to my family, even the ones I've never met!