Elizabeth Anne VanderPutten - We Remember WW II
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My
brother Dick, my Cousin Tommy, and I each remembers the end of WW II for
different reasons. |
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While we are preparing our best wishes for Betty on Friday,
June 8, I just want to steal the spotlight and remind all that tomorrow,
June 6, is the 57th anniversary of the removal of my tonsils. It must
have been a big day. There were flags flying and people were running up
and down the street hugging each other. I remember it well because I
was ticked that nobody was paying any attention to ME ! with my
really sore throat. They were all yelling about an invasion or whatever. I
guess that's the price for being a part of history. Seriously, although the above is true, here's a thanks to The Greatest Generation for laying it on the line for us in the 40's. Richard R. Vander Putten
My dad was drafted Nov 1944, with two kids and while he was working for AA in troop transport. Not a very good break. Brother Richard and brother-in-law Ray Gomez helped supplement Dad's whopping $19 a month as a private. When V-E Day hit (thank you Dickey) he was sent home. I didn't recognize him when he got home, six months is a long time for a almost two year old. I tugged tight to my mom's skirt. To relieve my fears of this guy in a uniform, she suggested to my dad to get down on all fours to play horsey. As soon as he got down I jumped on his back crying "Daddy!" Thomas Vander Putten
My earliest memory was of being wheeled up the street in New York City on V-J Day, August 14, 1945 and people all around yelling and laughing. The emotional content of that day and place will be with me always. I also remember Uncle Robby coming home in his uniform. We "almost" believed him when he said that his job during the war was catching bombs. Betty VanderPutten |
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