Little Grandpa

I never knew my grandfather or great grandfather on my dad's side. They both passed years before I was born. This was one of my great disappointments growing up. A few months back my dad spent several weeks sending us stories of his youth. 90% of the stories I had never heard before and so I would read them eagerly with relish (not the condiment). Many of the stories he shared involved "little Grandpa", his grandfather, my great grandfather. Although small in stature (he was only 5 foot 3 and could stand underneath my dad's extended arm) he was a man of great character. In honor of Remembrance Day and my Great Grandpa, I'd like to share a few stories of his experiences in the war.

Little Grandpa was involved in both World Wars and was a Medic in the Second. It was his job to run out on the field where the fighting was the fiercest and tend to the injured or fallen. On one such occasion he heard a soldier cry out from a small trench. Picking up his supplies he ran towards the hole, jumped in and starting tending to the soldier's injured leg. After a few moments he looked up to find the end of a enemy soldier's revolver pointed at his head. Wrong hole. Without saying a word, my grandpa looked back down, finished fixing the leg and was on his way.

On another occasion, after a particularly difficult day, the mood in the camp was quite bleak. My Grandpa was known as a strong Christian by the other soldiers, one who would never touch alcohol which is why my Grandpa thought it would be humorous to stumble into camp with an empty wine bottle in hand pretending he was drunk. Apparently his performance was so realistic that his Superior, who has witnessed the entire thing called my Grandpa out for his irresponsible behavior. My Grandpa was obviously mortified and tried to explain which of course only made his already laughing troop laugh harder. Apparently his Superior had been planning to ask my Grandpa to be the accompanying medic on an important assignment but due to his irresponsible behavior he could no longer be trusted with the mission. Once again my Grandpa tried explaining to no avail which of course only made the troop laugh even harder. Three men went out on an important mission that day including a less qualified medic. They were never heard from again....

On another occasion my Grandpa had an artillery shell roll up to him landing right at his feet. It never went off. I'm sure there are thousands more stories like this of brave Grandpa's around the world. Tell yours today. Lest we forget.

John