Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, May 25, 2009, while I watched the many televised tributes to the soldiers of World War II, I am reminded of my uncle, Jose Salmeron. Uncle Joe, as I called him, was my mother's brother. We were not very close and I might even say that at times, I wasn't fond of him at all, only because he was an alcohoic and he would often argue with my mother and such arguments would many times leave her in tears.

My uncle Joe was also a veteran of World War II. I'm not sure where in Europe he went through during the war, but my mother told me he was at Normandy. And he came back to the US on the Queen Mary.

Uncle Joe died a few years ago of lung cancer. I wish I'd talked to him of his experiences of the war and of many things he went through as a youth and later into his adulthood. It's taken me a few years to realize the person he was when he drank was not the same person he was when he didn't. But as the cliche goes, "hindsight is 20/20."

I guess I'm writing this to honor his service and his memory. Thank you Uncle Joe.