Grandma's War

The rain of devastation falling from the skies on Pearl Harbor that fateful December 7, 1941, was numbing, then horrifying, with the realization that Japan's attack, along with Europe's war, was now ours. Rising up out of isolation, our fighting men went to battle, and those left behind rallied to work in shipyards, airplane factories, and defense plants, rolling bandages, collecting scrap, buying stamps and bonds, and praying. We lived each day with the anxiety and fears that having a loved one in harm's way brings, and we waited. When the fighting stopped and the boys came marching home, we joined in a concerted effort to bind up the wounds of war and get on with our lives-until Korea-and we were at war again. 1953 saw its ending-except for occupation. WWII was not really over until 1955 when the occupation troops came home, and the waiting was only for the missing in action. The face of war has changed with weaponry, uniforms, and strategies transformed by a skyrocketing technology. One thing has not changed! Waiting for the loved ones in harm's way-it is the same. It will never change. And so we wait with our yellow ribbons.