On Memorial Day the Medlarclan stayed at home. I had wanted to plan something special for my girls. Such as planting US flags next to the gravestones of Veterans buried at the local cemetery in Olivehurst. I called the local Scouts and even the cemetery itself to find out if anyone had plans to place flags. To my surprise the Scouts had not and the cemetery did not even call me back. I thought we could go on a hike or take the girls swimming at the creek in Spenceville Wildlife Area. We ended up just staying at home. I did some things I had been putting off. Nothing major. I mowed the lawn, fixed the sprinkler system and set up the trampoline for the girls. The girls watched movies, jumped on the trampoline, ran through the sprinklers and played with their friends. I decided to find out more about the Veterans we had on both sides of our family.
On my Dad's side, my Grandfather, Harry Reid Medlar, served in the Navy as a Machinist (I believe) during WWII and the Korean war. My Great, Great Grandfather (Dad's, Mother's, Father's Dad), Reed Iddings McCarter, served in the Army as a volunteer in the Kansas 19th Calvary Regiment. Their orders were to ward off guerrillas from Missouri. He later became a firefighter in Topeka, KS and was a sharpshooter (probably in a local shooting club). Jeremy Medlar, my cousin served in the Navy.
On my Mom's side, my Grandfather Watson Talcott, served in the Navy as a Radio Operator during WWII. My Great Uncle, Neil Talcott, served in the Army as an Infantryman during WWII in the European Theater. One Great Grandfather, Talcott served in the Army as a Medic (I don't know specifics yet, But I believe it was during WWI. Where?) Another Great Grandfather, Messing served in the Army as an Artilleryman during WWI. I don't know where either. Mr. Bill (Aunt Lissa's ex-husband) served in the Army as a Door Gunner on a Huey helicopter in Vietnam. His son Sean Otto served in the Navy.
We also have Family members currently serving in the Armed Forces. William Otto serves in the Navy and is currently in Korea. Henry Bird serves in the Navy in the Medical field in Washington State.
I hope to get copies of pictures from relatives of all our Veterans, especially those who have passed on. I want to be able to share their stories with my family and help them to be interested in their family history.
The Medlarclan
About Me
- Neil
- "Ishi" is the nickname I was given by my coworkers. "Ishi" means "man" in Yana, Which is very fitting in my case. I am the only man in a household of five females. My lovely wife Anikai and I have four cute daughters whom we love very much. I try to spend as much time with my family but, my job does take me away from home quite a bit. As much as I love to spend time with my wife and daughters, it is nice to get outdoors by myself or with friends (usually my Dad). I love most activities that involve the outdoors, especially running, hiking and backpacking. Not necessarily in that order. I have many dreams and goals of places I would like to visit on God's wondrous earth. If your life is like mine, it's just making the time to visit all of them. Balancing my life a real challenge. Between family, church, work and play it can get quite hectic. "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but the power to do has increased." (President Heber J. Grant). This is true for however we may live, good or bad.
5 comments:
Great Blog Spot! Grandpa's middle name is Russell (you put mine in - I got some free advertising). Thanks for serving in the military. When mom and I went to Santa Rosa last week a lot of citizens with American flags were standing by the main drag (Old Redwood Hwy?) as we were driving down the street. We asked one of them what was going on. They told us that a local young man, Chris, had been killed in the military in Afghanistan and was being flown home that day. They were going to pay their honors by standing next to the street as his procession drove by. We were able to stop at one of the locations and join in honoring him. Thanks to you Neil and all the others serving and who have served in protecting us. It means a lot to us.
You do have lovely daughters and a lovely and talented wife. I was very impressed with the progress of her piano students. Have fun in Hawaii!!
Cousin Will Otto is now serving on the USS John C Stennis stationed in Bremerton, Washington. He served a tour in the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf and was on a special assignment on the USS O'Kane. He said, " Mom, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but I'm having a blast!" That's not something a mom wants to hear from her son in a war zone.
Wow Neil! I'm impressed with your history. You did some research for the benefit of us all.
You forgot to mention yourself silly.
Dad when I was in Missouri for school we were priviliged to stand and salute as a soldiers casket, whom alot of my fellow students knew, was unloaded from a plane and into a hearse. It was very touching especially with his family there.
Auntie Lissa, I will mention more on Will's assignments. If you have a picture of him in uniform or on duty, I would love to post it on my blog. I am going to ask Auntie for pics of our family veterans. She seems to have access to most of them.
I will mention myself too.
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