Some Gave All

My Grandpa McCloud had 2 sons from his first marriage.  Mason & Merwin (Kay).

This is Kay in his high school graduation photo:

And this is Mason when he was about 4:

On the 9th of January, in 1942, Kay joins the army.  He is part of the Air Corps, and within a year, this young man is piloting a bomber in England.

On January 9th, 1942, there is an accident over the English Channel, and Kay's plane crashes.  He is listed as missing in action, and later declared dead.

Mason then decides to take his brother's place, so he enlists in the Air Corps.  On March 12, 1944, he graduates from flight school.

On June 18, 1944, he is flying a training mission in North Carolina.  His plane loses power, and he tries to land it in a field.  Unfortunately, it seems his engine kicks back in just at the wrong moment, propelling him past the strip of land he finds to land on, and into a marshy swamp.  He is killed instantly.

My Grandpa goes to Delaware to collect the remains of his second son, and brings them back to Minnesota.

Almost 2 years to the day later, my Grandpa has married my grandma, and they have a little girl.  My mom.  My grandpa's first words, after she was born, were, "Thank God she's a girl."

I can't imagine my grandpa's pain.  Two beautiful sons, in the prime of their lives, gone.  Boys that he loved and cared for.  Played with and disciplined.  Gone.

Up until this last year, both Mason & Kay were... more "family legend" to me than anything.  I knew my mom had 2 half brothers, and I knew they died in WWII.  That was it.

But thanks to searching for family trees and such, the "family legends" have become MY family.  MY uncles.  MY uncles who gave their lives for my freedom.

Memorial Day, while always meaning a great deal to me because of my deep patriotism, means immeasurably more to me now.  There aren't enough words, or even the right words, to express my deep gratitude to them.

God Bless you, Mason & Kay.