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Tag: military

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
Victory in Europe Day

Victory in Europe Day

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Today is the 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 survived…

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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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POW/MIA bracelet
Remembering David Leet

Remembering David Leet

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I never met him, but David Leet meant a lot to me over the years. Captain David L. Leet. From Kenosha, Wisconsin. A Marine. He served in Vietnam. The fall of 1973, I was a sophomore at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, Connecticut. Typical teen, life was: 1) All about me, and 2) Totally miserable. Dad had been offered a new position with General Electric and our family was preparing to move to Indiana. It was September and America’s…

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Private John Henry Wigger
A soldier’s story

A soldier’s story

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Remember the panic about the H1N1 flu a decade ago? There was good reason for that. The first time H1N1 struck was back in 1918. In the U.S., it was originally detected among military personnel, in the spring of that year. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates one-third of the world’s population was infected (about 500 million) by what was then called the Spanish Flu. There were at least 50 million deaths. The death toll included Private John Henry…

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