The Passing of a World War II Veteran

Statistics tell us that every day, we lose more than 1,000 World War II vets in this country. On October 14, 2011, my father-in-law became one of those statistics.

Dad, Alphie J. Michaud, served during World War II and arrived in Normandy just a few days after D-Day. He never spoke of the war and did not keep in contact with his fellow comrades. We're not sure of the reason for this but we presume it was too painful for him. We do know that he arrived in Normandy and helped with the project to clean up the beach and identify soldiers. I can only imagine how painful this must've been for any soldier who was there.

What's really funny is that over the years, my husband and I would ask Dad if there was any one place that he'd like to go visit. We, of course, would've taken him wherever he wanted to go. His answer was always the same: Normandy and he'd answer without hesitation. We would then offer to take him to Normandy and he would always decline and not discuss the subject further.

Over the years, we also asked Dad to tell his story as a World War II vet. We offered to record it and send it to the Smithsonian for him. Again, he wasn't interested. He never said anything about World War II or about any other war since then. He kept his thoughts and feelings about war to himself.

Even though Dad did not talk about the war, he kept his World War II uniform in his closet and his medals in a little box in his dresser. We came across his box of medals but unfortunately, he must've given away his uniform as it was not in his closet.

Dad was 94 years old and lived a good life until he fell and injured his head. He received internal bleeding from his fall and it wouldn't stop.

To all soldiers that served during World War II or any other war, my husband and I thank you for your service and your gallant efforts. To Dad, you're at peace now, sleep well.

Image Credit: Sandy James