Thursday night’s celebration (11/11/10) was a first step for us to say thank you and document Dad's military service. Our time was priceless in that we had 4 generations present for Veterans Day dinner. We listened to Dad (James W. Lawrence) tell his story of serving in Germany in 1953 and 1954. I have started the process of documenting his stories. He left the US port of Camp Kilmer, NJ on the General LeRoy Eltinge. For the first three days at sea, no one could come out on deck because the waves were rocking and tossing the ship! After 11 total days, they arrived at the German harbor of Bremerhaven, Germany. Upon arriving, Dad was assigned to Headquarters for the 18th Combat Engineering Division in Giessen, Germany. There he served as a Medical Technician giving shots to everyone! He also participated in maneuvers along the Russian border.
He earned $150 per month. He sent $130 to mother and me and retained a whopping $18 per month for him to live the high life! His bride faithfully wrote to him every day! They started under difficult circumstances and made it work! I am so proud of my mom and dad for their faithfulness to one another and to me in the difficult days. Dad called my mom his beautiful sweetheart tonight and then said “this is still a wonderful country!
Thanks Dad.
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