On Friday, O woke me up to tell me she doesn't have school because it's Veterans Day. She went on to tell me that Veterans Day is the day we thank all the people who have "fighted" in our families. Not quite, but OK. Then she added Veterans Day is the day we will thank Bapa (her maternal grandfather) because he fought in a war and was wounded. Questions then went on from "Mommy, why did Bapa get in a fight?” to “Who shot him?"
It was only this past Spring that we shared with O the story, albeit without too many details, about Bapa’s heroic service. Talking about Veterans Day in her classroom apparently brought up many more questions for which she wanted answers.
"Bapa is a Marine Corp veteran. He fought for our country when he served in Vietnam many years ago. The people who hurt him were fighting for their country. They fought to build a communist country. We fought against Vietnam because our idea of freedom was much different than theirs. "Mommy, what is communism?" she then asked. My husband heard the questions and quickly responded “Communism is when you lose the right to make your own decisions and the government makes all of them for you.”
“I don’t get to make my own decisions all the time,” said O. My husband responded, “Well, in your case it’s more like socialism for kids; it’s a little different. And when you get older you’ll know what I mean.” Let’s hope.
A few seconds of silence and O asked, "Who won the fight?" Daddy replied, "Nobody, really." I added, "Bapa did because he lived and all of us did because we have Bapa in our life."
She then wanted to hear the story again, "Mommy, will you tell me the story again about Bapa when he ate peanut butter sandwiches for every breakfast, lunch and dinner.” She was referring to what Bapa always ate in Vietnam.” And then she added “and also tell about when he got shot?"
"Ok, here's what I know. Bapa was shot with a bullet while trying to save his buddy Carl. The bullet from the gun went under his arm and out through his back. He was hurt really bad. O, you have met a few of the people who carried Bapa down the mountain including Doc, Tommy, Ray and even General John (Lieutenant John at the time). After three rainy, scary days of slowly carrying him down the mountain and through the jungle, all while the Vietnamese soldiers were trying to hurt them, they finally arrived to safety at their camp. Towards the end, they thought that he had passed away, that he died, and placed him with others who had died in the battle."
O asked, "If they thought he had died, why did they still carry him down the mountain?"
"Good question, O. Bapa is a Marine and Marines never leave their fellow Marines behind no matter what. The great part of the story is that after one of the medics noticed out of the corner of his eye that Bapa was still moving, he pulled him over to those who were wounded, but still alive. General John was one of the few who knew he was still alive at that point as the others had left the evacuation center. Bapa was then placed on a helicopter that took him to a hospital. It took a long time for him to get better, but he did and luckily he came back to his family in Kansas.”
“Many of his fellow Marines thought he had died though. Years later Bapa saw General John who was being interviewed on TV. He then contacted General John. The General said, “Tiny, is that you? I thought you were dead.” They talked for a long time and are now good friends who see each other often. In fact, Bapa called a whole bunch of friends who also thought he was dead and now they get together often.
O asked, "Why did they call him Tiny?"
"Because he was so big" I said.
"That doesn't make sense. Why didn't they call him big?"
"You can ask Tommy the next time you see him," I continued. "When General John got to your Bapa he was being put on the helicopter. He asked, "You OK Tiny?" Bapa gave him a thumbs up, which was the sign for all good and let's go up. So up he went and he was taken to a really huge hospital ship where he was operated on and then sent back to America. Your Bapa is a War Veteran and today is the day to honor him and other heroes. So you are right, he is in our family and he fought for our freedom and we should thank him and all Veterans for all they’ve sacrificed for us."
Such a story makes it hard to say Kindergarten SUCKS!
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