I chose to post this picture I made last week of my uncle from WWII because of a news story that aired today. I used an old photo my aunt had given to me and transferred and enlarged it onto a piece of linen. I then affixed it to a stretched 5 x 7 canvas and applied several coats of Mod Podge. It now sits on a shelf in our library with a collection of old books and an antique basket. It definitely harkens back to yesteryear.
My aunt and uncle had been married for a few years and had one beautiful son before my uncle enlisted in the Navy and was sent to the Pacific. He gave the ultimate sacrifice in July of 1945 and never returned; my aunt never remarried. Their love was a bond that still remains strong, 67 years later. At the age of 90, she still speaks of him with a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face.
That brings me to why I posted the picture. My husband told me about a story on the evening news (I missed it because I was out for a year end gathering with my fellow librarians), about a WWII widow and her quest to find the details regarding her husband's missing status from WWII. For so many long years, she had no idea what happened to her dear husband of sixteen weeks. Finally, in 2005, a reporter uncovered information regarding her husband's status and his final resting place. He is buried at the Memorial Cemetery in Normandy, France. Since then she has visited him several times and sends flowers to him ten times every year. When asked why she never remarried, she simply says, "He was married to me all of his life ~ I chose to be married to him all of my life."
I post this as a tribute to the many widows of the brave souls who never returned from WWII and all other wars. Also, tomorrow is the 68th anniversary of D-Day. Let us remember all the brave young men who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy, some making the ultimate sacrifice.
