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1951 Dad at Providence College
Dad’s first 24 years

Dad’s first 24 years

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In a file folder containing Dad‘s retirement documents from 1988, I came across a five-page typewritten document. Titled: Autobiography A handwritten note at the top of yellowing paper indicates it was completed on July 21, 1954. Was it written by request of a potential employer? We may never know. Here it is, in its entirety: Autobiography by Harold E. Vayo, Jr. My birth occurred, I have been informed, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Utica, New York, about four-thirty on the morning…

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Kosovo child
Ex-president pleads not guilty

Ex-president pleads not guilty

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No, I’m not referencing the situation here in America. There’s another former president from a far-away land who also says he didn’t do it. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Kosovo War. That country’s former president pleaded not guilty at The Hague today to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mom had a way of deeply humanizing stories of political and ethnic conflict through her writing. From Paddy McCarthy’s part in Belfast’s Bloody Sunday in 1971 to the…

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1953 photo Mom sent to Dad in Korea
The missing year

The missing year

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Did you see the news story the other day involving the sudden wedding of two members of the Ukrainian Defense Forces? Lesya Ivashchenko and Valeriy Filimonov weren’t planning to hold their ceremony during war time, but decided to make their vows on Sunday at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv. This year would have been my parents’ 70th anniversary. They were married in New Haven on a Tuesday, while Dad was on leave from the Army. Dad had a…

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A soldier’s letter to ‘Joe’

A soldier’s letter to ‘Joe’

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Another mystery. This time, contained in a letter. As I’ve shuffled through hundreds of letters saved from the late 1940s and early ’50s, I’ve noticed Dad calls Grandma Cassidy (his mother-in-law) “Joe.” Thing is, her name wasn’t Josephine. It was Cecelia. Cecelia Margaret Regan Cassidy. And when she wrote to Dad, she signed the letters “Joe.” I wonder why … … maybe she worried that the other soldiers stationed in Korea might take a peek at one of the letters…

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1952 letter from Grandpa
Sarcasm, 70 years on

Sarcasm, 70 years on

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Well, I left something out in an earlier story. As much as I learned about Grandpa Vayo while researching “The Family Scholar,” I didn’t pick up on one important attribute. Sarcasm. Grandpa knew how to take a sarcastic turn in his writing. Here’s a letter Grandpa mailed to Dad on July 30, 1952. My father was in boot camp at Fort Dix, New Jersey, preparing to be sent overseas during the Korean Conflict. Dear Son: Guess there isn’t much news…

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Paddy McCarthy with children
For Paddy McCarthy

For Paddy McCarthy

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The other day, it occurred to me that Mom lived through a lot of wars. As a child, she wrote poems about the soldiers in World War II. Her uncle Pip and other fellows from the neighborhood were called up to service. It clearly weighed heavy on her heart. She and Dad married while he was on a finally approved three-day leave. When he returned to his barracks, Dad found orders to ship out on his bunk. He was on…

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1918 Harold E Vayo World War I
His father’s uniform

His father’s uniform

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The year 2020 has given us a lot to complain about. A global pandemic. Unstable economy. A contentious election. Looking back 100 years, our ancestors didn’t have it any easier. They had their own pandemic, which claimed a member of Gary’s family. And just a few years later, another massive flu outbreak that took my father’s maternal grandfather. One hundred years ago, the presidential election was between Warren G. Harding and James. M. Cox. Harding’s campaign message was a call…

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Grandpa's French painting-1
The family scholar

The family scholar

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There’s so much to know about my paternal grandfather. Grandpa Vayo was a humble guy, though, so it’s taken a lot of research to piece together the story of his life. Lots of conversations with Dad, emails to my brothers, and searches on Newspapers.com. And here we are. Harold Edward Vayo was born on this day in 1899 in Brewer, Maine. His parents, George and Alice, had already lost a child to cholera. Little Gladys Alice was only 15 months…

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Rita & Andrew, Oct 14 1950
75 years ago

75 years ago

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Today is the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. That’s “Victory in Europe Day,” the day the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. Gary’s Dad, Andrew, celebrated in Austria. A soldier there with the U.S. Army, he had to wait his turn to make it back home. There was a “point system” and as a single fellow he had fewer points than those returning to wives and children. Andrew was a long way from home, but he’d…

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PIO of the Army's 24th Division, Korea
Dad’s time in Korea

Dad’s time in Korea

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Children – even adult children – often don’t start asking questions until it’s too late. Important questions about the stories their parents and grandparents carry with them, but don’t necessary bring up at the dinner table. I’m so grateful to have a giant (acid-free) folder of photos from my dad’s time in Japan and Korea. With long conversations over the phone, often punctuated by texting photos to his iPad to jog specific memories, Dad and I were able to piece…

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