52 Ancestors Week 1: An Ancestor I Admire

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 1:

The theme for Week 1 is “An Ancestor I Admire.” Many people begin their family history journey in order to feel more connected to their ancestors. Who is someone in your family tree you admire? It could be a parent, grandparent, or someone further back in the tree. This is a week to tell their story.

How is this a free image for "admire"? Ask Google.

    Normally, I don't like putting an ancestor on a pedestal because he or she might be different from the image you have in your head. There's an old saying that says "You should never meet your heroes" as they'll sometimes disappoint you. Thankfully, most of the cast of every "Star Trek" series to date have been truly awesome people worthy of admiration. As for family? I would say there are a few people I admire. I'm going to keep it simple for this first week of the 52 Ancestors for 2026 and talk about my grandfather Robert Hamel and why he was basically Captain America.

Robert, Clara and Alfred junior (I think?)

    Robert may not have taken part in a top secret government program to create America's first super-soldier. However, he at at least knew who Cap was! When I was a kid I'd be reading a comic starring the first Avenger and he looked over my shoulder and said "Hey! I know that guy!"

    That made sense. Captain America debuted in the 1940s and was very popular among US soldiers fighting in a conflict you might have heard of called World War II. It wasn't just kids who read comics in those days. Superheroes were popular with everyone. Not just with the kiddies.

    Robert was one of the many who enlisted to serve his country in its time of need and even though he was never a general or anything he served a very important function. My grandfather was a staff sergeant in the Air Corps, the organization that gave rise to the United States Air Force. He worked on planes and even flew on more than one occasion. The birth of my mother clipped his wings and he eventually took jobs that took him all over the country and even to places like Japan and Saudi Arabia once the war was over. To say he was worldly is a bit of an understatement. He loved to travel and tell people about the people he met in far away places and how we had to respect the people there. If that doesn't sound like Captain America I don't know what does!

    As I've said before, my grandfather was a bit of a shutterbug. He took pictures of anything and everything. He even took pictures during the war. He showed me several of his pictures and yet he never showed the wartime pictures to me as they were quite graphic. My aunts and my mother told me he was likely protecting me and I can see why. When you're a kid, you really don't need to see the images of war. Especially before bedtime.

    In all honesty, he never really talked about the war that much. He said where he was stationed, of course. He talked about the people that he met and how nice they were. He just never talked about the actual conflict like most soldiers do. I can understand that. I never pressed him on any of the details. You just never did that with him.

    What really surprised me is that he never talked about the awards he won or any of the promotions. So, imagine my surprise when I searched for him in the Newburyport Public  Library's newspaper archive  and found article after article about my grandfather getting promoted, sending letters to his mother Clara and getting awards from Uncle Sam. He got these awards and never talked about them! That's how humble he was.

    He'd probably say that it didn't really change anything and he was probably right. A medal on your tunic, while cool, doesn't always reflect the kind of person you are.  A decorated five-star general could still be a jerk regardless of how many medals he/she has. It's all about what's in your heart.

    I think that the modesty is what all ten of us grandkids remember about him. To us he was just grandpa or Pepe/Papa. And for Jim and I he was really the only grandfather we had growing up since we lost our other grandfather Marco while we were young. He never tried to replace him. He just treated us like any of his other grandkids.

    He never really yelled at us or anything. He just would tell a story, talked about his family history or just talked about fishing, golfing or any of his other hobbies. He was just that easy to get along with and because of that everyone who knew him liked him.

Totally not sus, Papa.

    It was actually very hard for us to keep a secret from him believe it or not. When we planned his surprise party for his 90th birthday, I thought I would record things for posterity. <cough>For Facebook</cough>. I had the camera out for the big reveal and he turned to me and asked "What are you doing?" My dad tried to save face and said "We're just taking a picture of you." I don't think he ever realized that I had a small camcorder.

    He just smiled, went with the flow and we had a great time. Though, in order to keep the surprise going I had to dress in normal clothes while the rest of my cousins were wearing nice clothes. Did I stick out like a sore thumb? You betcha!

 

    I like to think that he thought I was taking up a photography hobby like he did. He never knew I filmed parts of his surprise party. I don't think he'd have cared either way. I have the video clips saved to a jump drive and on a dvd so they won't be lost any time soon. Now that's forward thinking! I have videos of him at the party and at my cousin Kristyn's wedding. Both parties were great. I do feel bad, though. He never quite understood Bruno Mars and "Uptown Funk".

 

    Papa was admirable because he was just always modest and never let his medals go to his head. Lord knows he had tons of them! He was a kind man who loved his family and we loved him for it. He never really asked for much at Christmas, either! I guess all he really wanted was family and that's probably the best gift anyone can ever give someone. 

    That's why he was like Captain America to me. He never asked for much. He never waxed poetic about the hardships of war. And when you needed advice he would always lend an ear and we'd talk about what was bothering you. He was just that kind of guy and at the end of the day he was someone a lot of people should strive to be like. 'Nuff said!

See ya next time!

    

Not pictured: Jim and Brianna