As we celebrate Memorial Day and remember the heroes who have made possible our freedom, I wanted to post something I wrote a few years ago about my dad:
"A few years ago, as I
attended a tribute to our local veterans, I noticed with surprise that my
father, Charlie Martin, was listed as one of the deceased veterans. In reality,
Dad never served in the military, and I felt a little embarrassed that he was listed
with all the men who have served our country through the years.
Following that tribute, a
number of people mentioned Dad’s military service to me, and as I found myself
explaining the situation, I realized that my dad was indeed a hero, even though
he never wore a military uniform.
During World War II, many
of the young men in Petersburg were headed for the military because their
country needed them. My dad was no exception. Like many, he was undoubtedly
torn by the desire to serve and the need to stay home to care for my mom and
sister. But he wanted to do his duty, and had enlisted in the Navy. In fact, he
had already taken his physical exam and was ready to go.
At that time, my dad was
not only the sole school bus driver for students who lived on the farms
surrounding Petersburg, but he was also the bus mechanic. He kept the old bus
in good working order in spite of the difficulty of getting parts and supplies
in wartime. And he took his job very seriously, making sure the bus was
roadworthy, and taking care to get the children back and forth safely.
Dad was so conscientious
that he even risked losing his job one day rather than put the school children in
harm’s way. A very serious blizzard blew
into the area quite unexpectedly soon after school convened that winter day. Dad
asked permission to take the children back home before the storm worsened, but was told
that there was no need. As the day wore on, it became apparent that the roads
were becoming too treacherous for travel. Finally, around noon, they asked Dad to start loading the
kids and take them home ~ but he refused. He had checked out the roads and knew
that to venture out was too dangerous. Conditions had become so difficult that
the parents could not even get to town to retrieve their own children. So the
kiddos had to bed down in the schoolhouse for the night. Dad probably was not
too popular with the schoolmaster that day, but took his responsibilities for
the safety of the children too seriously to venture out into the storm.
During the wartime climate
of World War II, when the superintendent of the Petersburg schools and the
school board learned that Dad was headed for military service, they intervened.
They contacted the draft board and made an appeal for Dad to be released from
his commitment in order to keep the Petersburg bus routes open and the bus
running. I think Dad was always a little embarrassed that he had been kept
home, and may have felt that his contribution was insignificant.
But regardless of whether
he served his country in the military or not, he still died a hero because of
how he served his community and his country, being faithful in the everyday
things he was called to do. Many others, for one reason or another, did not
serve in the military because their presence was needed on the homefront.
The speaker at the Veterans
Ceremony that day expressed it well when she said that there were soldiers who did not
serve in combat and who may not have considered their service to be
significant. But she explained that it is a team effort. Every person does what
they are called to do, working together toward a goal, and it takes teamwork to
get the job done whether a person is on the front lines or not.
So the rest, as they say,
is history. Who knows . . . if Charlie Martin had indeed served in the military
and died, I would not be here today to tell his story . . . and to remind us
all that a military uniform alone is not what makes a hero."
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| My sister with my dad in his later years. |
copyright 2008
