Thank a Veteran
Mom and Dad's wedding day.
Veteran’s Day was always a unique day in my house growing up because not only was it a special day to honor our Veterans it was also my parent’s anniversary. Through the years we celebrated this day in various ways and I still remember fondly their 50th anniversary. The November before my father passed away (Dec 2007) they were blessed to have marked their 63rd wedding anniversary.
They were married on November 11, 1944 at St. Aloysius Church on St Clair Avenue (Glenville). They lived in the Collinwood community though and their reception was held at the Collinwood Slovenian Home on Holmes Avenue. It was during WWII so my father was married in his uniform and everything was rationed. My mother remembers families getting together to pool their ration stamps in order to put together a wedding feast complete with a cake and enough fuel stamps to get them back to Camp Pickett, VA, where my father was stationed. My mom always said that, “on the day we commemorate the world declaring peace, we declared war!”
It wasn’t hard to honor our veterans on this day growing up because we had a tradition of service in the family. My father was in the Army and served as a T5, stationed State’s side during WWII, while his brother served with the Army overseas and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge, and a cousin served in the Marines. Several members of my mother’s side of the family also served during WWII. A cousin served the Army during the Korean Conflict and my mother’s brother was in Vietnam and gratefully returned home.
Years later when I married my husband, Tim, their was also a tradition of service in his family. His great aunts served as Army Nurses and even as WAC’s during WWII, and his father served during the Vietnam era while an uncle, whom he never knew, was killed in Vietnam. One branch of his family can even be traced back to the Civil War era where many members of the RUPLE family (of Collinwood) served during this pivotal era of our country’s history and at least one young man “gave his all” at Stone’s River, Tennessee in January 1863.
Our community has a tradition of service, too. I can trace veteran service of Collinwood and Euclid Township citizens back to the American Revolution through the War of 1812 and the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam and all the other wars and conflicts America has been involved in. Our cemeteries are full of veterans who either gave of their service or gave of their lives to keep America free.
With this tradition how can one not feel a special connection to the significance of Veteran’s Day? It was once known as Armistice Day, when peace was declared at 11:11 AM on November 11, 1918 essentially ending World War II, the war to end all wars!
On this Veteran's Day, let us not forget ALL our veterans no matter when they served. Thank a Veteran you know for
their service.
Share your veteran's story with the Collinwood Nottingham Historical Society (CNHS) – We are starting the "Names Of Our Veterans" project. We would love to hear about any current or former resident who served in America’s armed forces with their branch of the military and any other designation you would care to share with us.
EMAIL the CNHS at CollNottHistory@aol.com.