A Forgotten Hero, To All Forgotten Heroes

                                        I gave my father a painting for Father's Day of him when he was in the army.  My dad is a Korean war vet.  When I was growing up ,going to school, not much was said about the Korean conflict.  It was only during my senior year in High School that talk about the experiences and history of The Vietnam War started to crop up.   M.A.S.H the popular TV series was the only mention of The Korean War at the time, that even dealt with the subject so close to what my father went through and even that at best was from a medical standpoint. Although some of their story lines took a soldiers point of view.   Many terms were used to describe the war in Korea, "A Police Action" and "The Forgotten War".  Now a days, you hear talk about Vietnam, but hardly anything if any of The Korean War.
                                     In the Army, dad was a Ranger and a Sergeant.  He also worked on tanks.  Got his GED and Mechanical College Training there as well.  My father had little opportunities growing up but took advantage of them while serving his country.  I am proud of my dad and so are so many others who followed and keep following in his foot steps.  It really doesn't take long to bump into someone who knows my dad in Delaware, Ohio.  To my children he has been a dad .  So he isn't a celebrity in the "Hollywood " term or even a nationwide public figure, he's just a hometown hero and hometown friend.  Well maybe a little fame with his music, stretching just into West Virginia on local radio shows and TV programs.    Just a couple days back, he told the kids and I how he and his friends, his adopted sisters Jean and Ellie got their big break by winning a talent contest at The Ohio State Fair out of seventy five participants.
                                    Its like my mom said just a couple days ago "Nobody knows all he has walked, that they should judge him" She surely stands by him with great conviction, very devoted lady.
                                    I know that the last few days I have let out a lot of hurt that my brother and his family have inflicted.  I can't really place any wrong doing on my family's part, seeing all that we have gone through together, and just to be accused of something that simply unfounded, is despicable.   For years its been building, pushing us all away, the "My way or the highway attitude"  We have always shared in our celebrations with them, going around their schedules, changing menus to please them, helping them when they needed help, only ignored,criticized and humiliated as just reward.   Just using this incident as an excuse to ignore us completely for the sake of pride,jealousy and selfishness.  Most people usually enjoy having two parties, especially from people who love them.  It shows them how appreciated they are.  In turn the person should be appreciative.
                                    I think of that word because, I can't think of any other word to describe how I feel about dad's sacrifice.  Not to mention all Veterans, including my late husband.  I think of my great grandpa Charles M Havens who bought the farm, my grandpa William E Havens dropping out of his junior year to help farm the land to feed the family.  How about my grandpa and his father building the barn. Great grandpa, my grandpa and their brothers Raymond, Milton and Brooks Havens working the land.  How about the support from their sister Charlotte when my grandpa died in 1987, the only grandfather we had.  Lastly my mother sharing her inheritance of land so my brother and his family could build a house next to my parents on five acres so they can have the privilege of treating all of us like dirt !
                                 For the few days after my brother showed his true colors, all my sister Vick could say after being hurt was.."He was angry"..Well, " I am angry too, angry that they could act that way, sorry I am not going to say please either, nor am I going to apologize for something my family and I never did ..am I hurt? hurt that we could be accused of being insensitive when they should know better but most of all Hurt, for my family hurting from thoughtless words coming out of idle tounges"
                             We are too blunt?..oh my what a crime, I'd rather have someone blunt and honest with me than someone who goes behind my back and then candy coat their actions. As I recall, Christ used blunt people and they were great people " Peter" and Paul who began as Saul Of Tarsus "   Just to name a few . They were heroes, still are and I am happy to rank among them, Thank you very much.
                        For a man who has unjustly been labeled as a bad influence by my brother and his family, Dad sure has laid a positive foundation for my family, not to mention all those who admire him, love and protect him.  This blog is for all those forgotten heroes, who have been mistreated, unheard, unappreciated and judged for standing up for a cause.  You are loved, appreciated and accepted for who you are.  The bible says that God Loves Us All Through His Son Jesus Christ, who saved us..

           Proud Of My Father, Thank You Dad For Always Being There, by Sally J Wells-Hutchison