The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:
Six months after our trip to Europe, my life changed from elated to dreading Erik’s orders for Operation Desert Shield, which became Desert Storm, then The Gulf War. Erik had enlisted in the Army and was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then he was stationed in Germany for a year, and then in January he entered the war with his unit.
I was born to do all the worrying for the whole family, I think, and was having my usual reactions while thinking about the (happy) details of family events, along with the (terrible) thoughts of Erik in harm’s way, all at the same time. One morning, Dave said some everyday thing to me, probably about the weather, and I snapped at him and told him not to talk so much. Obviously, I was not myself.
When I returned from an errand later in the day, on the kitchen table was a prescription Dave got from our family doctor. After Dave described that morning’s situation and my reactions, the doctor ordered Buspar, a sedative. Dave did me a favor, and “gave me a gift” of his support at that difficult time and didn’t get angry at me for being short-tempered. He understood! Thanks, Dave!
Erik returned home safely. I prayed prayers of thanks.
A little detail about my daily life during this time: I discovered Rush Limbaugh’s program on the radio. From that moment on, throughout the war, I listened to Rush for the only complete, daily 3-hour discussions about everything known up to the minute about news from the Gulf. The symbol of this war for the home front families were yellow ribbons, tied around trees, attached to mailboxes, worn on our clothes, etc., until the war was over.
During Desert Storm, Dave compiled a veteran’s list, printed periodically in the Monroe Watchman. People from all over Monroe County called him with names of veterans in their families, their dates of discharge or KIA date, or whether they were currently on active duty. Each week, the Watchman published the names of those newly added to the main list. The list became very long, filling several pages of a Watchman issue. In the 1991 Farmers Day parade in Union, the veterans list was displayed on a huge white board on a parade float and Erik marched in the parade in his uniform. So did Charlie Kidd and Dave.
To be continued…
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee (1931 – 2024) built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
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