Happy Veteran's Day!

This is Grandma Norma.  She is 88 years old and a whopping 88lbs. to match.  She is a force of nature.  This week I went to a Veteran's program honoring all of the Veterans in her retirement facility.  Grandma may have not carried a gun through WWII, but she certainly served her country.  She was a singer for the USO.  She traveled to the battlefronts and sang to the troops to keep up their morale.  (On a sidenote: men use to climb trees to get a better view of her and when they become too overwhelmed by the site of her beauty, they were known to fall out of the trees!)  Anyway, they asked her to sing one of her favorites last nights, "I'll be seeing you" (think the Notebook).  My mom and Holly sang with her and they brought the house down.  Standing ovation to prove it.

They told the story of each Veteran and had a marine honor them with a medal.  It is amazing to see these sweet, little old men and realize how many of them survived plane's being shot down, years in POW camps, etc.  Do we take time to thank them for how much they sacrificed all those years ago?  Look around you - veterans are everywhere.  It is truly a great day that we get to honor them and all they went through. 

Here is some background of the night.  Grandma was very nervous before her performance.  She kept having me take her outside to 'vocalize.'  Here she is getting a pep talk from my out of state sister before her 'number.'

The performance.  I need to get the video - I'll work on that.

The Veterans

Yes her - she was a MARINE!!!

Since Grandma doesn't even know how to get on the internet, I can post this.  This is Mr. Pierce.  He is a dapper british chap that lives in her center.  They are, well, special friends.  Okay so my grandma has a man and I don't.  It is pretty cute watching these two.

Showing off her dog-tags (70 years old).

Here are some pictures and clippings from the past.

This is a program she kept from a few years back.  A while ago, she was able to go to a reunion for a certain infantry from the war, put on her uniform, and sing to the Veterans.  And would you believe, some of the men there remembered her.  She had sang to them in the war and she was able to sing to them again 60 years later!

Don't ask.  She does this pose at every chance she gets.

And I can't forget the other brave Veterans in my life.  Grandpa Bill, who served in the US Army and slept in the trenches on far too many nights.

Grandpa Bob, a Merchant Marine.  He's only 17 in this picture. 

My Dad - US Air Force and US Navy Pilot.  Served in Desert Storm

To all of you Veterans who are here and to those who have gone on, GOD BLESS YOU!  Thank you for your service!