CHAPTER 1
Shadowed Veils of Memory
The soft, wispy veils float across my mind in colors of blue, green, white, and sometimes almost black. These gossamer waves, so unclear at times, then reveal memories as bright and crisp as though they happened yesterday—veils of memory, hiding little patches of times gone by, veils we wish we could forget, veils we are glad to push aside, so we may see those times again. They reveal memories we cherish, loved ones long gone, but there they are, just through the veil, the veil of memories.
Late at night as Becka and Red lay in the large guest room bed, they talked quietly about the events of the day. It had been an especially happy one. Becka's parents had really enjoyed their fiftieth wedding anniversary. All five of their children and their children's families had attended. Every one at the gathering was in seemingly good health and spirits. There was singing, laughter, eating (lots of eating), visiting, and catching up on all the events of each family. It was the type of gathering that especially pleased everyone. Becka's parents, Ben and Liz, loved having all of their children present, seeing their many grandchildren, and making sure they were all fed. Liz prided herself on always having delicious food and plenty of it! Except for the incident, indeed the near tragedy of little Nancy, everything had turned out well.
During the late evening of the outdoor festivities, Ben and Liz's great chow dog, King, had repeatedly come to Ben, and then to Red, whining and looking concerned. However, both men had given him a bit of food and paid no more attention to the dog. Later, when it came time to gather things together and for Harry and family to leave, Mikki, Harry's wife, called for their little daughter, Peggy, and her friend Nancy, who had traveled with them to Kentucky for the anniversary celebration.
But Nancy couldn't be found. They looked everywhere around the house and yard, calling the child all the while. Red asked Ben if he had seen the dog in the last few minutes. Both men looked concerned, remembering how the dog had behaved earlier, and both started to run toward the woods behind the house, whistling for the dog and calling Nancy.
When they found Nancy, she was disheveled and disoriented. She couldn't remember anything that had happened. The scene around her looked as if a battle had taken place. There was blood on the ground, and a bloody jacket lay beside King. King was obviously hurt and bleeding profusely. He was badly wounded, and they could only imagine what might have happened. The other men, Henry, Johnny, and Harry, had arrived on the scene by this time and they quickly made carriers of their pants for the child and the dog.
Harry and Johnny carried little Nancy and Red, and Henry carried the dog. Tears were streaming down Red's face. "This dog probably saved little Nancy's life, and he may die before morning," he thought to himself. And that thought proved true. When they got Nancy and the dog to the house, they called the doctor, and Maggie called a Vet for King. Ben called the police.
The doctor came swiftly, as did the Vet. When the doctor arrived, he pronounced Nancy unhurt physically and aware. He said she had fainted and probably didn't know what had happened. He had looked her over carefully and decided not to cause her more trauma by sending her to hospital. The Vet checked King over and said his condition was grave and that the next few hours would tell his fate.
The police came and very quickly found the owner of the bloody and torn jacket. He was hiding in the woods near the creek. His right arm and hand were bloody, and his clothes were torn. The dog had put up a great fight, and the man had run when he heard the whistles and calls for the child. He claimed he had found the child and the dog in the woods and meant no harm to either of them. The police nevertheless took him into custody, where he was treated and placed in jail.
Red and Ben told the police about the dog trying to warn them earlier. It turned out the man had been lurking in the woods and had no good intentions on his mind. It was an incident none of them would forget. The next morning, the old dog passed away. He was treated as a real hero with all the neighbors coming to his "funeral."
Becka and Red delayed their return trip for a day or two, until all settled down. Nancy told Peggy's mother that "someone had put a cloth" over her face and that that was all she could remember. Indeed, the police found the chloroform-soaked cloth near where the dog and Nancy were found. They had treated the cloth as evidence.
Mikki decided to let Nancy alone with no more questions until they got her back home to Florida and her parents' home. It would be time enough then to review what had happened. Peggy told her parents that she and Nancy and King had been playing hide-and-seek in the woods near the house and when she couldn't find Nancy or the dog she "just thought they would come back soon." Harry reminded Peggy and Nancy that they must always remember to play where they could be seen by their parents or other adults. However, they did not dwell on scolding the girls. They had had enough trauma for one day.
It was the summer of 1962. World War II had ended in 1945, and the Korean Conflict had ended nine years earlier. John F. Kennedy was president, and there was an atmosphere of confidence and the anticipation of a bright future.
The World War II veterans, who had returned home, had resumed their lives, finishing school, finding jobs, and starting families. Although they had scars, both mentally and physically from their wartime trials, they put them behind and charged full speed into their lives.
Becka's brothers, twins Harry and Henry and older brother Will, had returned. Harry finished graduate school, and he and his family moved to Pensacola, Florida, where he became dean of a dental school. He authored several medical books about dentistry, doing the illustrations himself for each book. He enjoyed his work and his children. He and his wife, Mikki, had four children, three boys and a girl. When Harry talked about his wartime experiences, it was always with fun and humor. He related the more humorous aspects of his time in the military, talking little about the dangers and hardships. Their oldest son, Stephen, visited Becka in California when he was grown. He enjoyed Becka's home and seeing Southern California, and he and Becka enjoyed talking about Harry and family memories.
Becka's youngest brother, Henry, married his favorite girl, Helena, soon after he returned from combat. He had been in the worst part of the war, if indeed any part of the war could be called "good." He had landed on the beach battleground at Normandy on "D Day minus four" and had fought his way through France and Germany. He had endured the "Battle of the Bulge" and was involved in close combat in both France and Germany.
Henry had seen many of his best friends literally blown apart in battle, and he had survived in a muddy, icy foxhole during the Battle of the Bulge. The Allied bombs came so close to his foxhole that he was literally lifted out of the hole when the bombs exploded, falling back onto the wet muddy ground, not knowing if he was still "all there" or even if he had been lucky enough to survive at all. The noise of the bombs was so fierce that he felt his head would explode! Yet, he came home from these terrible experiences saying very little about them and resuming his life.
Henry, like his brothers, was determined to get on with the business of living—making a family, finding and keeping a good job, and building a good life. Although they did not speak of it, they were determined to "make the world a better place" and the experiences of the war justifiable so that the sacrifices of so many of their buddies and friends would not have been made in vain. These young men had a fierce love of their country and wanted desperately to be part of a bright future for their children and grandchildren. They were indeed a part of the "greatest generation," as Tom Brokaw wrote in his book of the same name.
As Becka and Red talked quietly that evening after the celebration, Red held Becka close. He, like the twins and many of his wartime buddies, talked little about their war experiences. His own wartime adventures had often been filled with extreme danger. He had been in three airplane crashes during his military years. One was in the South Pacific, where he had to make a water landing while being strafed by enemy fire. His landing gear had been damaged and he could not land on the field. He had radioed for help and a PT boat was sent to pick him up if he survived the water landing. He had not been able to bail out, as the prevailing wind would have carried him over the enemy lines. Except for a bump on his head, he made the landing safely, but the Corsair fighter plane he flew was lost to the sea. The PT boat had picked Red up quickly and a photographer on the PT boat had taken pictures of the water landing.
Red had also had two crash landings while in the States. Both crashes were because of faulty and damaged equipment on the planes. In Laguna Beach, he had made a belly landing because he was unable to get his wheels down, and once in Cherry Point, North Carolina, part of the cooling system had fallen out of the plane as he was coming in for a landing. He had made a "dead stick" landing in the smoking, damaged plane.
Red knew that he had been lucky to survive each of these crashes. Still, he felt that his service as a fighter pilot was easier, and probably safer, than was the fate of the ground troops who slugged it out in the hot, humid, insect-infested jungles and in cold muddy trenches in the European theater. Red's tour of duty each time he fought in the South Pacific took him to the tropical islands that had been invaded by the Japanese. His first tour of duty was as a day fighter pilot. The second time he was sent back to duty, he was a night fighter.
Red was in the Marine Air Core Reserves when the Korean conflict began, but because he was married and had two children, and because he was working as a fireman at a nearby military base, he was not called to active service. He had worked as a fireman for several years until he had been able to build up his accounting practice. He was tireless, working two jobs during the years after his return from the military.
Here, at his in-laws' home and next to his wife, Red felt happy and loved. He, like Harry and Henry, had put the wartime experiences behind him and had charged ahead with the business of living.
In the large back bedroom of the house, Ben and Elizabeth were also talking quietly about the day's events. They laughed as they remembered little Peggy's dancing with the Hula-Hoop. They also recounted the scare they had all had when Nancy disappeared and was later found in the woods with the great dog King, who had saved her from sure disaster.
The incident had turned out well for Nancy but not for King and had shaken everyone.
Ben and Liz also talked about Davy, Becka and Red's son, and Danny, Henry's son, eating watermelon and spitting the seeds at each other, while Sharon, Becka and Red's daughter, and Will's daughters, Darla and Rita, played badminton on the south lawn. Becka and Red seemed so happy together, as did Will and Edith, Henry and Helena, and Harry and Mikki.
Maggie Frances and Johnny seemed to really enjoy all the families and the commotion as well. Maggie Frances had been the main "mover and shaker" for the whole day. She had called everyone, arranged sleeping for family members, and planned food and games. She was in her element, and because she was a teacher, she was very capable of making things run smoothly.
Liz and Ben were proud of all their children and knew their special gifts, appreciating each one. They were both sad over the loss of the old dog, King, but were glad that he had given the last "full measure" of his life saving little Nancy. King had been an important member of the family and part of their lives for almost sixteen years, and they would really miss him.
Henry's wife, Helena, had been a real help in serving and planning the family event. She was always there for Liz and ready to help in any way she could. Helena, along with the rest of the family, felt the terror of the missing child and the loss of the old dog, King. She thanked God that the little girl was not hurt, and each time she thought of the incident, a cold shudder went up her spine.
Liz had been born into a family of seven children—the fifth child and one of five daughters. Elizabeth Eureka Sagraves was born in 1885. Her parents Sara and Green Sagraves were very young when they married. Sara was only fourteen and Green barely nineteen. Early in their married lives, they moved to a farm and opened a mercantile store. They also had a large farm with several acres of land, horses, a cow, and many chickens and rabbits.
Liz was no stranger to hard work. She had been assigned chores to do even as a small child. She later worked in the country store and graduated from Normal College to become a teacher in the small one-room school near her parents' home. Liz was a beautiful young woman, with blue-gray eyes, dark golden curly hair, a "peaches and cream" complexion, and an infectious laugh. She was one of those fortunate people who could almost always see the humor in everything.
Ben, who was a few months younger than Liz, was born in 1886 into a family of seven children. He was the youngest son and grew up on a large farm in Virginia. He was born Benjamin Ernest Young and had had the nickname of Hoss for as long as he could remember. He, too, was no stranger to work. All of his sisters and brothers worked hard to maintain the farm, cattle, horses, and a kitchen garden. Their father had been killed when Ben was but a boy, and as there was no insurance, their mother and all the children worked to keep food, clothing, and other necessities available for the immediate needs of the family.
Ben was a handsome man with a shock of black hair, fair skin, and steel blue eyes. He had a beautiful smile that showed even white teeth. He was well-built and very strong, and skilled in many areas. He had only attended fourth grade in public school but had continued to study through correspondence colleges, receiving certificates in electrical, mechanical, and mining engineering.
Liz and Ben's courtship had lasted over three years, so they were both in their late twenties when they married. They had moved to West Virginia where Ben had a job as the electrical supervisor of the mines in Chattaroy, West Virginia. It was a well-paying job, with a furnished home for Ben and family and a car provided. However, it was a dangerous position, as all mining jobs are. Liz continually begged Ben to look for other work. When he applied and was accepted at the American Rolling Mill Company—ARMCO—he moved with his family of six children to Ashland, Kentucky. They had made their home in this same house since then. They had reared all their children here and loved this old place. Hoss had made many improvements, and Liz had painted the inside walls, wallpapered and furnished the home with colorful and comfortable furniture. They were happy here and enjoying their later years together. They had no desire to leave, although Becka had often encouraged them to sell the old place and move to California. They had considered it and had spent several winters in Southern California but were always happy to return to the place they loved, the place that would always be home to them.
In truth, all the children loved this old home. It represented security and family love to each of them. They all enjoyed coming "home" although each had made homes of their own. Liz and Ben had been living examples of what a happy home should be, and each of their children had maintained long and enduring marriages. That didn't mean there were no trials, problems, tragedies, and sacrifices. There were many trials that could have ended in a broken home, but they did not. Each sibling had managed to work through his or her problems, whatever they might have been, and their families grew stronger for it. Ben and Liz were motivated and purposeful and communicated with each other and their children. They "worked things out" and managed to remain a close-knit, loving, and caring family. They had suffered tragedy in the loss of a dear son. They had pulled together and comforted and sustained each other.
Through the years, there had been many serious illnesses and accidents. Will, their oldest son, had almost been killed as a young boy when a large stone rolled down one of the steep mountains near the family's home in West Virginia. The stone had hit his head and almost severed his right ear. Liz had given him the proper first aid before the doctor arrived, and the doctor told her that she had indeed saved her son's life—and ear! He would have surely bled to death before the doctor could have arrived without her help.
