Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering #2

Today I present to you installment #2 of "Remembering", a new feature here at Yankee Burrow Creations.  You can find #1 here or at the above tab, "Yankee Burrow Storytime".

Now it's morning.  The sun is shining through the blinds of my bedroom window, and I drag myself out of bed.  I don't have time to mope around.  I only have a short time to get ready for my daily visit before I head off to work.  I throw open my closet door to find the perfect outfit.

circa 1960 shirt waist summer dress

Last night's dream has given me a strong desire to go back..back in time.  So I grabbed Al's favorite dress.  The one he got for me in New York City right before he shipped out.  Maybe if I wear it, today he'll wake up, today he'll remember.  Standing in front of the mirror, my mind floats back...

It was the summer of 1971, Al was home on a two week furlough, and we decided to spend his last two days in the city.  The days were joyful and the nights were bittersweet.  It was also when we began our family, but we didn't know it then.  If we had, it would have been even harder to let go when it was time.  But duty calls....and so Al walked aboard the USS Higbee and headed towards the war in Vietnam.

Vietnam war memorial print

 

In April of 1972, the Battle of Dong Hoi was a fierce fire fight between Navy ships trying to stop North Vietnamese troops and supplies from reaching the battle front in the Quang Tri Province.  I had followed the news reports, and worried when I heard about the direct bomb hit on the USS Higbee.  Only 4 men at most were wounded, and so with a shipful of thousands of men, I prayed for Al's safety.  But still...something inside of me broke.  The day I saw the Navy Chaplin walk up to my front door, I knew.  Al was one of the wounded.

 

 

To be continued....next Thursday at the Yankee Burrow Storytime.
Just click on the link below each picture to purchase these items for yourself.

 

Be blessed,

Debbi