Words of Wisdom from SharLeigh
A HEARTFELT TRIBUTE TO BILL
Bill was a child of the Depression Years in the United States. At the age of 6, his most important chore was getting up before dawn and walking the railroad tracks looking for pieces of coal to use for heating the house. He also had a job as a newspaper boy. By the time Bill was 13, he had a job in his older brother’s garage. Between working and going to school, there was little time for a social life but he did meet a girl in the 8th grade that captured his heart. Bill stole this girl’s handkerchief, wrote her name on it, and kept it for his own. By the age of 17, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and Bill did not think twice about enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Bill’s boot camp was cut short and he was put on a train to the East Coast. It was at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. where he first saw his new home – the newly constructed USS Yorktown (CV-10). This huge carrier was 856 feet long by 93 feet wide and carried 90 aircraft. For a young man that had never left Cleveland, it was quite a sight. While on the USS Yorktown, Bill participated in several raids and campaigns including the Marshall Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and many others. After the war, he put his fighting days aside, found that gal whose handkerchief he held on to all those years, and married her. He continued the trade he learned when he was 13 years old (auto mechanic). He never complained about how life had taken the best years away from him – nope, he never complained. Today he is 84 years old and a proud patriot. He has been married 62 years and has two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Bill is my father and I can think of no better way to honor him this Father’s Day then to tell his story! This also is to acknowledge all of the hard working men out there who never complain – Happy Father’s Day!