A story that should be dear to everyone’s heart

My wife, Kimberly, belongs to the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).  You know, those who gave their lives to defend against tyranny. Her bloodline did not stop there. It continued into the Civil War, World War 1, Vietnam, and World War 2. If you think this sounds like a “Forrest Gump” movie,  I can assure you this not the case.

Talking with my wife as I do many, many times throughout the days, she asked me a very thoughtful question, “Why do you suppose my family fought, knowing they would stand a great chance of dying in battle?”  At first I thought this was a silly question and so I answered it accordingly,  “Because they believed in freedom”.   Well, call me a fool, but that was a rhetorical question. She answered it for me and here is how she she did it:  

Revolutionary War

“My great, great, great uncle, Noah Ayre, who my grandmother always spelled with an ‘s’ as in ‘Ayres’, did truly believe that fighting against a tyrannical king was more important than farming a free land in America. He knew that his land, along with other great Americans, would be gone if King George had his way. So he fought”.  Great answer huh?  It gets better.  I never said it was a short answer!

Civil War

“Now” she continued, “My great, great uncle Peter B. Ayres was a fascinating man. He volunteered to join the union, which was organized at Philadelphia as the 32nd Pennsylvania volunteers, on July 26, 1861.  This man was virtually at the start and end of that war”.  After hearing about his entire enlistment I decided not to list everything Mr. Ayres was involved in, however I provided a link(below) for you to browse, as well as a quick snapshot.  He too fought for freedom.

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Soldier Details
Ayres , Peter B.
BATTLE UNIT NAME:
99th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry
SIDE:
Union
COMPANY:
E
SOLDIER’S RANK IN:
Corporal
SOLDIER’S RANK OUT:
First Lieutenant
ALTERNATE NAME:
Peter/Ayers; Peter B./Ayers
FILM NUMBER:
M554 ROLL 3
PLAQUE NUMBER:
NOTES:
General Note – Original filed under Peter/Ayers; Peter B./Ayers
 http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UPA0099RI.  

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Now, normally being the wonderful husband I am, I for once did not have a good enough reason to preoccupy myself with another distraction, as all us wonderful men seem to do when we open the big book on discussions with our better halves.  Sorry honey, just being honest here…

Let’s continue shall we?

World War 1 or the “Great War”

“My great, great, great grandfather fought in WW1” she declared.  “Let me stop you right hear” I interrupted. In fact, let me stop everyone right here.  The worst thing you can do at this point is ask what you thought was a simple question.  Can you guess what that was?  If you said “Which side of the family are we talking about here…” then you won the $64,000 dollar question, because that is exactly what I did and paid dearly for it. So I will save you the agony of my ignorance by trying to explain who belongs to who here, and what side of the family we are talking about, because I guarantee I’ll lose you at grandmother’s sister’s cousin’s uncle’s side.

With a heavy sigh she continued, “My great, great, great grandfather ‘Albert Rogerson’ fought in WW1, and when he returned home became a firefighter who later died from pneumonia fighting a five hour fire on William DuPont’s property. He served for the same reasons, freedom from tyranny”.

World War 2

“Lawrence Prorok” she blurted out, “my grandfather, was a Private 1st Class in the army, and an amazing man to me.” she exclaimed, “His parents were immigrants from Poland, who spoke only in their native tongue. He was the 1st generation American citizen of his family to enlist in the military to go and fight against a tyrannical Hitler. He received a Purple Heart, and no one knows why. His brother, who did not enlist, claimed that when Lawrence returned home he was a changed man. He too served for the same reasons as all the others before him.” she concluded.

Now we all know that the majority who fought this war left behind the horrors they witnessed. Then the movie Saving Private Ryan brought to light what these heroes truly endured.  In fact, I’ve had the personal pleasure, while out having breakfast with my wife and youngest daughter a few years back, of shaking hands with a WW2 Veteran who fought in the “Battle of the Bulge”, where we nearly lost that war.  This Veteran gentleman has since passed away.

Vietnam

“My father served in the army and was stationed in Germany” she went on, “and for some reason his platoon was not called into battle in Vietnam. When I asked my father why he joined the military, his response was he ‘… Served to protect the people of the United States of America and their freedoms…'”.

Now my father-in-law was “George L. Rogerson III”. He was discharged with honors and returned home as a Specialist 5 Tank Platoon Commander.  George died at the young age of 68 in 2011 of a massive heart attack, one month after retiring from his job with the LA County Sheriff’s Office, and I can whole heartedly say he was one of the sweetest gentlemen whom I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of ever knowing.  God rest his soul.

As I listened to my wife the entire time from beginning to end, my answer was what I deemed correct.  “They believed in freedom.” “Really?” she questioned, “That’s not how I see it.”  “Then please explain” I asked, slightly confused.  She continued, “The history of my family goes back to the birth of this Great Nation, who at first glance would agree with your assumption, but if these men truly believed in fighting despots who wanted to snatch away the freedoms of all of us, then why did my family sacrifice so much for something that we as Americans have given up so easily to a corrupt nation with tyrannical tenancies?” As shocked as I was with this outstandingly blatant truth, I took to thought.

I pose this very question to you, dear reader, and ask that you pose this very same question to everyone else you know.  Remember, we still have our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, nephews and nieces who are continuing to fight for our “freedoms” when all we are doing here at home is serving it on a silver platter to king(s) in our own country.

Yours truly,

A proud husband of a wife who’s blood runs through the veins of my children.

Scott R.