Health & Fitness
My Grandpa
My last surviving Grandfather recently passed away. I have been thinking about him a lot since. Here are some of my written ruminations about him that I wanted to share.
James Eldon Bartlow
My grandfather, my mother’s father, died on November 20, 2011. Grandpa Bartlow, as I knew him, was always a gray-haired man with glasses and a smile. He was a good grandpa. He was a good man. I have many memories of him. He was always smiling. Grandma would serve him his eggs runny yellow and he would then cut them up with his fork. He enjoyed working with his hands. He made toys out of wood. He took my two brothers and I fishing, played games with us, and would tickle us until we couldn’t stand to be tickled any more.
James Bartlow was also a member of The Greatest Generation. He served the United States in World War II as a seaman in the Navy. He was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Chenango (pronounced Shenango), a tanker converted into an aircraft carrier. The Chenango (CVE-28) was an escort carrier in WWII. The Chenango’s aircraft provided cover for supply convoys that supported the invasion and occupation of several islands in the Pacific part of the time. At other times, it’s aircraft were directly involved in attacks on the enemy as the U.S. miltary advanced in the Pacific Theater.
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Typical of many in The Greatest Generation, Grandpa Bartlow didn't talk about the war very much if at all. He would speak fondly of his shipmates when I would ask him about what it was like to be in the Navy. I could tell that he still cared about some of them years after he had shared with them the horrific experience of war.
I was blessed to be able to be a part of the family convoy that took my grandpa to the National WWII Memorial opening in Washington D.C. The National Memorial was dedicated on May 29, 2004. I am so proud to have been able to be there with my grandpa at the dedication.
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It was 18 months later when my Grandma Bartlow, Grandpa's wife of 61 years, fell ill and on Christmas day of 2005, she passed on. My Grandpa missed her dearly. A marriage of 61 years, quite a feat in my opinion. I don’t think he wanted to spend another Christmas without her. I don’t blame him if he did feel that way.
He was such a good man. I always did admire him. I still do.
I will miss my grandpa. For those of you that still have the chance to sit and talk to family members from The Greatest Generation, I urge you to spend that quality time with them. And if you can, do it in great quantities also. You won’t regret it.