Initials in the concrete

Our oldest Jay is named after my uncle who was a flight instructor in the Air Force and died in 1972 when his jet crashed on a stormy night while on a training mission. I promised my grandmother that I'd name my first after him.

My grandmother was a WWII veteran and was one of the earliest women to serve on active duty in the US military as a member of the WAC. If you went by her house after 1972 you'd notice her American flag flying 24/7, day and night, good weather or bad. One day the American Legion visited her and asked why she didn't take her flag down when it rained. Her response was that if her son could be on active duty at night in a thunderstorm then her flag could be as well. They never asked again. The flag at our house flies 24/7 as well.

A veteran himself, my dad sent me pics where Uncle Jay wrote his initials and the date 10/20/64 in the concrete behind the barn at the old farm. As we head into the anniversary of our independence, I'm glad to have this little remembrance and to have been able to honor Uncle Jay and his service by carrying on his name.