From Amy Johnson Crow:
Week 21:
The theme for Week 21 is "Military." Who fought in the military? Who worked to stay out of the military? What discoveries have you made using military records?
"Each bond you buy is a bullet in your best guy's gun!"--Captain America
Talk about your coincidences. Last week, my father showed me a letter my great-aunt received from my grandfather. More on that in a little bit.
Military, huh? Well, my family has no shortage of veterans. I can tell you that much. I have almost a dozen soldiers of the American Revolution in the tree, three Union soldiers and several veterans of World War I. Talking about all of them will take forever. So, let's talk about my grandfathers, shall we? Yes. Yes, we shall.
Robert Eugene Hamel was a Sargent in the Army Air Corps during World War II. The Air Corps was the organization which eventually gave rise to the US Air Force. When I was growing up, he told me about how he was stationed in North Africa, Italy and various other places in Europe. I used to joke and say that he was basically Captain America. In a way, maybe he was. He obviously wasn't granted superhuman agility, peak human endurance and he definitely didn't punch Hitler in the jaw. Nope. There was still something else that made him kind of a superhero. At least in my eyes, anyway.
After the war, he continued to serve until retiring in the 1960s. He was decorated with the following medals:
Good Conduct Medal with 5 Bronze Loops, American Campaign Medal, EAME Medal with silver star, the World War Two Victory Medal, the Korean Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, UN Service Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, the Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Not bad, huh?
Grandpa Hamel was a hero to me because he was very worldly and was very respectful to everyone he met. He always had a kind word to say and was just a very nice person.
He didn't really go into too much detail about his time serving. It wasn't until his funeral in 2017 that I learned a lot more about his service than I ever thought possible. My aunt Linda put together a photo album since my grandfather LOVED photography. He took so many pictures and would often have a great story to go along with them. Usually they were stories about his mother, growing up in Newburyport and many other stories. When I got to the funeral home, I found many of my cousins huddled around this black photo album my aunt had separate from other pictures he took. They were crying and told me I needed to see this album. My brother and I exchanged a look. I wondered what exactly was in there.
I looked and saw that the album was labeled "war pictures" and that there was a special tab warning people about the nature of the pictures about halfway through. I asked my aunt what she meant by the warning. Apparently, he took pictures during the war. That didn't surprise me. He had a very old camera that he used up until at least my graduation from high school in 1997. I asked why there was a tab and she said needed to warn everyone that some of the pictures were graphic. I took a look and she was right.
My grandfather took pictures of the horrors of war. This was a guy who never glamorized his service. He never had a mean word to say to anyone. He showed the destruction, the chaos and the toll war had on people. He always told me that he took pictures of the war. Just never anything this graphic. Was he trying to protect me or something? I have no idea and I suspect I never will.
In the end, my grandfather Hamel left behind ten grandchildren and several great-grandchildren who look up to and admire him for his service to America and the fact that he was just basically the typical grandfather as my brother put it in his eulogy. That's probably what I'll always remember about him.
Marco Ferraiolo had a different path than Grandpa Hamel. He was a Private in the 101st Airborne Paratroopers Unit in World War II and honestly I don't really remember a lot about him. He died when I was just four years old and thus I don't really remember anything about him save for the stories people have told me over the years. Grandpa Hamel always said he was a good man with a dry sense of humor and a talent for building things.
That much was true. He helped my father build his dental practice and the house I grew up in. My family always told me stories about him since he was never around. I grew up knowing much about his past thanks to everyone. He was born in San Pietro a Maida, Italy. He loved gardening. He also was one of the many Italian immigrants who fought in Italy during the war.
It wasn't until last week that I got a lot more details about his time as a paratrooper. My father asked my great-aunt, Nicole (Marco's sister) to send him letters he wrote to her along with his wings and a few other assorted odds and ends. Nicole obliged and end us a copy of one of the letters in early May. Of course, my dad read the letter and asked me if I wanted to see it.
I jumped at the chance. Why would I refuse?
Right from the start it felt surreal. I mean.... I never saw his handwriting before. It was very neat and definitely a treasure to hold onto forever.
In the letter to my great-aunt, he talked about what it was like to be a paratrooper. He talked about how several of his friends died, how to time a jump and talked about his worries with each jump. Would his second chute open? He even wondered why he was doing this. He wasn't a coward by any means. He was a nineteen year old kid expressing his concerns and fears to his older sister. Since all I had about Marco before was just stories, in a way this letter I have made him seem more real, I guess.
If all you have to go on are stories, you owe it to yourself to find out as much as you can. Letters, I think, really help. Especially if they are handwritten. Photos work, too. The one above is one of a handful of pictures I have of my grandfather on my dad's side. Side note: Apparently the poodle was a pain and only liked Grandpa Marco. At least that's what everyone has told me.
I digress. Grandpa Marco served well as a paratrooper and unlike my grandfather he didn't continue his service. Still, his actions during the war should be considered commendable. I mean, he faced his fears and STILL continued to be a paratrooper despite his concerns. That takes a lot of courage. Both of my grandfathers were courageous in their own way and both deserved the high honors they received from the military and the family itself. There's no question here.
Now, does that mean I'm going to jump out of a plane? LOL. Probably not. Though, I would imagine ski-diving to be a lot less stressful since you wouldn't be under fire.
The letter and the pictures we have will always be valued treasures in my genealogical arsenal. You can look at records until your eyes bug out and still never get the full, human experience you get from things such as letters, photographs and other artifacts our ancestors left behind.
Before I close, I'll add that many of my other relatives served. My great-grandfathers served in World War I. I even have a cousin who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A lot of people in my family served. I wanted to focus on just two because their stories needed to be told. Looking back at what I wrote here....maybe both of my grandfathers combined could be Captain America?
That would be cool. Either way, they're both heroes to me.
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