[Qiviut]

I can see why your dad was your hero - sounds like he was a hero to those in his platoon as well.

Dad was a surgical tech, stationed in Hawaii at an Army hospital ... there were hospital ships bringing in the wounded from the Pacific Theater. Most had been stabilized enough to survive the trip, but then the surgeons had to go to work, putting them back together. Dad assisted in the OR, sterilized instruments, etc. One surgeon even let him do a little ‘stitching’ when they were closing up a patient (last layer only). He would have made a great doctor, but went into engineering instead.

Members of the family are making an effort to stop by and visit with dad more often. For his birthday, he wants “quiet” - dinner with his kids & their spouses only, no grandkids. We are arranging for the grandkids & their children (4 great-grandkids, one just born Sept 9) to ‘stage’ next door at my brother’s house and come up one family at a time, with a little gap in between so dad doesn’t get too tired. It will be a huge hole in our family when he passes - I know he’s hanging on for 100 so I suspect after that after reaching this major milestone, he might not make it through next year. He’s surprising, an ‘Energizer Bunny’, so time will tell - he does have advanced heart failure, so that situation will only get worse.

Thanks for your post about your dad! 💕

[Carriage Hill]

“He would have made a great doctor, but went into engineering instead.”

My Dad was also a Chemical Engineer after WWII, and rose to VP of Allied Chemical. He then founded General Chemical for Allied, as a spin-off for certain specialty chemicals.