Remembering My Father On National Purple Heart Day
Wednesday, August 7th, was National Purple Heart Day. I published this (lightly edited) post on my Facebook M Glenn Ross, Author page.
Pictured is my father’s Purple Heart, which he was awarded after being wounded in combat in the European Theater of Operations. He was escorting three German POWs back from the front, and as they walked through a cabbage patch, a round from a German mortar struck nearby, killing the three Germans and wounding Dad. He would carry some of the shrapnel for the rest of his life.
Before that, he saw intense fighting and was also awarded the Bronze Star (not pictured) for taking out a machine gun nest. Growing up, we were not allowed to shoot off fireworks as Dad suffered from PTSD and often had nightmares.
This shadow box hangs in my office near my desk, and I look at it often. When it came out, my mother wanted to see the movie Schindler’s List. Dad had no interest. She and I went to see it, and when we returned to their home, I said to my dad with all the sincerity I could muster, “Thanks for helping to win that war!”
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will discuss the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making and the changes the US Navy made because of those lessons.
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-Glenn
