After The War-Three Word Wednesday

American forces advance toward a fortified enemy on Okinawa.

This week Thom has chosen the following words:

Fresh
New
Resolute

Go to 3 Word Wednesday for connections to other contributors.

I buried myself these last few days in Tom Hank's The Pacific. Ten hours immersed in the war with Japan on specks of land in the ocean named Peaceful.

After The War

You dared to call me
resolute. You saw as well
as I how my will
flopped right down mushy
on the steely shards of fate.
At least flowers grow
all fresh scent and new
pastel blooms, three per each bush
right across our graves.

December 30, 2015 5:01 PM

My father was a co-pilot in the Pacific campaigns of World War II. He was a war hero who though wounded, brought his badly shot up plane and two wounded crew members back home after the pilot was killed. He never flew in peace time that I knew of but he did favor English sports cars in the early fifties. I remember going for drives.

My step-father was a younger man. He got in the last of the war and was in the First Marines on Okinawa (and later in China after the war). I am fortunate that both these men survived, though their marriages to my mother did not. I believe my father and mother conceived me while he was on leave, but I believe he was home after his wounds and did not go back. My mother divorced him in 1947. My step-father married my mother in 1951. They did not divorce until 1969.

I don't know if my step-father was in the heavy fighting on Okinawa or not. He never talked about his war. I understand that many vets didn't talk about the war. I think they saw things better left unsaid.