545. Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but courage and the soul. ~Michel de Montaigne

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How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
~William Shakespeare

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As WW II raged on in the fall of 1942, my dad was drafted into the U.S. Army on the day I was born and was sent to St. Augustine, Florida, for basic training. Afterwards he was moved to Camp Shelby in Mississippi for medical training before being sent overseas. My mom then traveled by train with me at the age of six months from Los Angeles, California, to Camp Shelby so Dad could see and spend a little time with her and me before being shipped out. (The picture above was taken in Mississippi before he shipped out.) A few months after he left, Mom began receiving small gifts and letters in French from a young Algerian woman whose children’s hands had been severely burned during an air-raid and whose home had been destroyed in the bombing. For several weeks, Dad who was a medic in the Army, made his way from the camp where he was stationed to the town in which the family lived to bring medication and change the children’s bandages. Today, I pray the little candle of Dad’s good deed shines on in the lives of those two little girls.

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Although Dad came home to my mom and the two oldest of his babies as seen in in the photo above, he had been inducted into the army with an enlarged heart, which in retrospect seems to have been large both physically and spiritually. Even though he was shot in the line of duty, it was not the shrapnel in his legs, the wounds of war that ended his life. At the age of 51, my father suffered a massive heart attack which brought an end to his valiant and cherished life. It was then and is now the most tragic of my life as well as a profoundly defining moment. I was the only one of his three children whom he got to see graduate from high school, and 50+ years later I still cry when I see his face or speak his name. He was and is now my hero, and I honor him and ALL who have served and died to protect our freedoms.  And I pray for safety for the ones who are currently serving and for their waiting families.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die… time for war and a time for peace. ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 and 8b   ✝

30 thoughts on “545. Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but courage and the soul. ~Michel de Montaigne”

    • You think so, huh?! I have my dad’s and his dad’s ears that’s for sure. According to a doctor whom I had to take mom to regularly see, I had my dad’s personality and not hers. Thank you for you kind words about my tribute! Love and hugs to you as well. N <) ❤

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  7. OH NATALIE! What a moving post. I enjoyed reading your father’s biography… I’m so sorry he died so young. How cruel for your mother and her children… your parents were beautiful and you are beautiful! And the beauty and the generosity of your soul is theirs! I’m not surprised your father took care of others… in a way, you do the same… the little candle of your dad’s good deed shines… yes it does, but it is not a little candles… suns, it is suns and stars! It is light. Unperishable light Natalie! Much much much love to you ♥♥♥
    PS I see that we are the same, as we are worrying we think of our beloved parents. I was worrying and sad, and I thought of my parents and wrote poem about them (in fact, to be with them) – I know that you are worrying about your surgery, and you write a very moving post about your father… but as soon as we think to them, they are WITH us, they know and feel what we know and feel… we never are orphans, never. Take care my dear friend ♥♥♥

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    • Oh my gosh, what a lovely and moving comment, Cher. How you honor me with your words! My dad would be so proud of his baby girl had he been able to read your ever so kind words about the little light that I try to let shine in an often dark and cold world. I didn’t really get to know my dad as much as I’d have liked to. He died when I was so young and I never got to talk to him in the way one talks to a parent when they are old enough to be more interested in them than themselves. He had a twinkle in his eye that I adored and he was a good man. He was a no nonsense kind of dad, but he had a sense of humor, and I adore men with a sense of humor. There just so much that I would liked to have shared with him and asked him about. His death left a hole in my heart that has never been healed or closed. But you’re right when I think of him he is right here with me, and sometimes I almost feel like I can reach out and touch that face that I miss so much and see that twinkle in Norman’s eye one more time. Je t’aime et je t’adore, mon cher, cher ami!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

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  8. A lovely post and tribute to your father. That scripture has cropped up a few times lately for me. Reminding me that we are following God’s plan for us, not our own. It is nice though, that you had some time with your father. 😀

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  10. Oh Natalie, I can really share your pain. We have something in common: I lost my dad when I was 4,5 years old and thinking of him makes me sad even more than 50 years later, too. I wish so much I could have known him, too. Hope you feel good inspite of your sorrows, virtual hugs Mitza

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    • Oh, Mitza, you were even younger than I was. I’m so sorry. It is so sad when children lose a parent or parents at a young age. I wish we both could have known your dad. Thank you for you kind words and well wishs. Hugs, N ❤

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  11. Oh wow Natalie. What a moving post, and incredible story. Thank you so much for sharing this bit of your history with us. I absolutely love the photos. You were such a little cutie. I have a question though. Did your dad pass away while in the war or much later? I ask because he was drafted when you were born, but lived to see you graduate.
    I love that he was, and still is your hero. I have no idea how that is as I did not have a healthy, nor happy relationship with my dad. My hope and prayer is that my hubby will always be our girl’s hero. I know that he definitely is right now. And I have a sneaking suspicion that he always will be.
    Love and hugs to you, my friend.
    🙂 ❤

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