Today was the big day at the WWII Museum. I could barely
sleep thinking about that and about Mom. She was so pleased, even astonished,
that they wanted her handbag. I wish I could have done this before she passed
away but I also feel it was more important to be with her than to do this. Even
though other things happened today I am not going to mention them. Today is
about Mom and her service and the donations to the museum.
As we entered the building we could see this sidewalk and
pathway of many bricks with names on them, that alone is emotional. This is the
Road to Victory Brick Program, which continued inside as well. Later I asked
about this program and a nice lady gave me the information. I asked if I got a
brick would they send a photo of it, but no, they don’t do that. I decided I
would probably still do it and hope to come back and look at it one day. I want
to add that while I browsed the gift shop the same lady (Nancy) found me, gave
me her card, and said she volunteers on Thursday’s. If I call the cell number
on her card, she would take a photo of the brick and mail it to me. I was so
grateful. I am going to look into doing this for both Mom and Uncle Buz. So of
course, this is all very emotional. In addition, the volunteer we met outside
told me to go see the man in the red shirt a he is a WWII veteran and I could
shake his hand, we did. What a personal place this big facility is!
There is the museum of course with a movie that plays
periodically, an enthralling gift shop, and 40’s themed snack bar. Across the
street there is a huge theater, it is unclear to me at the moment what goes on
there but at times they do have themed shows pertaining to the WWII era at
least. Those who know me know that shopping is not my “thing” but a military
gift shop is pretty special. We got there early for our appointment so we
browsed the gift shop, while they made a call Toni Kiser. She was also ready to
see us early and met us at the counter. It happens that her office was being
renovated so we used a little area on the side of the entrance counter. At
first I thought that was not very personal for such an event and it even seemed
awkward but I was wrong. When I opened the box with the handbag and other items,
it drew a crowd of volunteers to see what treasures I had. Of course, Toni knew
ahead of time that I had Mom’s Army handbag and they did indeed want that. We
agreed in a previous phone call I would bring a few other things to see if she
wanted them as well. Inside the handbag is what appeared to be a little wallet
of sorts with her name stamped on it. It also held a mirror and two dog tags;
Mom’s and Uncle Buz’s. Oh boy, it was emotional talking about Mom and then
telling them about her brother. It brought back such memories of how close they
were all their lives. I shared a little bit about the many Glos cousins who all
served during WWII. We sat and thumbed through two albums that belonged to
Uncle Buz and they did want both of those. Some photographs were not even on
pages, but they wanted them anyway. They also wanted the Vmail sent to Mom from
Uncle Buz, a postcard from her cousin Elton serving in Italy at the time, a personal
letter Mom wrote to her friend Freda in Rutherford, a ration book with stamps,
and actually they wanted everything I brought but the patches. Mom told me the
patches were a little collection and when other passed through they would trade
them off and save them. Apparently, the museum has plenty of those. One of the
volunteers watching was stunned to see a patch that would have been one his
father wore! He said he had been looking for one of them for a long time so I
gave it to him. He was so grateful and came over to us several times to say how
much he appreciated it. I told him I was sure my Mom would be happy for him to
have it. About the 3rd time he came over to thank us he said he
figured out that his father’s unit had passed through Fort Oglethrope, GA at
some point before going overseas and that must have been how Mom came to have
the patch. It just made me very happy to know this man will treasure it.
As Toni filled out the donation paperwork one thing they
asked for was Mom’s ending rank. I did
not know. I told Toni I would send a copy of Mom’s discharge papers so they can
list her final rank on the items that are displayed. I hope I have Uncle Buz’s
too but I am not sure of that. She did not ask for Mom’s obituary, life story,
or anything like that but I thought I put it in the box, it was not there so I
will also send that later. She said it will take 6-8 weeks to receive a written
confirmation and thank you for the donation. She did give me a receipt today
for everything donated. Uncle Buz’s items were donated in Mom’s name. It just
seemed easier.
There were a couple gentleman sitting at a table with their own personal items. I asked if I could take their photo and the older of the two said only if I give them a hug too. Of course! The younger man was also in WWII but in addition to his items he was there displaying his brother's Purple Heart. I don't think I have ever seen one in person and touched it. It was an amazing day.
I am sure I will want to add more to this blog but right
now I just want to post it and relax for the rest of the evening. It is almost
10p here and I was up at 7a so I am bushed. What a day, only wish I could call
Mom and tell her about it. I will be
posting photos to FB as well.
I think Mom's items will be in the Women in WWII Collection.
I think Mom's items will be in the Women in WWII Collection.
Wow....is about all I can say.
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