Its another Father's Day.
For me its and actually weird holiday and, I have to admit, I get confused as hell. Why? Well this is because for me I have Father's Day twice in a year. I have Father's Day in the USA for my own father, which is in June. Then we have another in September for my father-in-law because of my husband. Yep, that's twice at two different times in the year.
Soooo the result is I usually (and unfortunately) forget about the US Father's Day only because I don't hear about it here. Then in September, when the Australian one comes around, I start swearing because then I remember I forgot the US Father's Day. *sigh* I can't win.
My father and I have never been close. Stuff happens and we just didn't get there. We are trying both of us and I think in the last 12 or so years we've been doing very good in that trying. There's just a lot of underlying issues. Anyway, not going into those especially here.
This weekend in the US is Father's Day. And I remembered for a change, which is different, so he's a post on it. When I was doing "The Book of Me, Written by You" they had us write about the
Military and I had thought they had us write about our Father's, but I couldn't find it if we did do one. I know in 2015, I did a
Father's Day post myself.
Recently, I've been doing more research while taking an online course. I was in the middle of a story and found I needed research and before long, I ended up looping up and around and found myself researching a bit of what my father was doing in the Subs or The Silent Service as they are called.
Then you have the calls where Dad still talks about them and tells me about the diesel and then nuclear subs, but he can't go into much detail because its all still classified. People don't realize just how much, even after you retire, is still classified and can't be talked about. Within our house, we learned growing up you don't talk unless spoken to and you have to be careful of what is said. We were taught this stuff from a very early age.
It was how we grew up and you just didn't say much. Not saying much grew into a wall which is still there even today. I believe that because of this, we all stayed away from anything to do with the military, especially after it seemed our father was almost obsessed with it. To us, the military robbed us of a father, so why would we embrace or want anything to do with it?
However, as I'm growing up and doing research, and now that Dad's letting me in a bit, I'm starting to put things together slowly. Would I ever still want anything to do with the Navy? Hell no. However, I'm starting to slowly make peace within myself because of it. I'm not sure, and it could take the rest of my life, to make actual full peace with it, because of the hurt its caused, but at least I can say I've started.
Here's a look back at my father's life in the few pictures I have of him. I didn't even have a picture of him until my late teens.
To him and all Father's out there -
Happy Father's Day.
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| Us in 2010 |
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| 2006 |
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| 2006? Dad with his 2nd wife Louise |
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| 2006? Dad in his dress military uniform |
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| 2010 The Schmitz family at my Uncle (father's brother) funeral |
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| As a baby in 1935 |
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| With his Aunt and Uncle on his trip to Germany in 1935 |
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| A schoolboy in NJ |
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| Near his home in Linden, NJ |
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| 1st Communion |
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| 1948 |
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| Seaman's Picture in Navy |
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| 1953 before the Navy and in High School |
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| 1955 on a Sub |
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| 1956 Dad with his Brother, Grandpa Stanley, Grandma and my mother before they were married |
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| 1950s Getting an award |
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| 1994 in Wallkill NY |
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| Committee for VFW Commander award |
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| 2016 when he had a reunion with other submariners |
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| 2016 on his Honor Flight being thanked |
