Summer is the best time. School’s over, the days are warm and long and there was always lots to do. At the end of a hot summer day it’s great to cool off with a nice bowl of ice cream. Here we have Kirk, Cris and Todd who I are ignoring that perfectly good couch behind them. But perhaps they are not allowed to sit on the couch when eating. Could they be at Mimi and Grampys apartment?
While not as exciting as some of the other photographs I’ve shared over the years, I feel that this photo shows some of the best things about summer time spent with the family and something good to eat. Hope you all are enjoying summer 2021 so far!
I find myself wishing that I had been invited to this meal. Eating outside on a nice summers day when you can enjoy the food and the sun is one of the best ways to eat. The only thing on this photo is the date, June 10, 1951. That means that 70 years ago the Katz family got together and someone took this photo. I just wish I knew who was who.
I think that June is in the dark dress at this table facing the photographer. The scallop neckline on her dress and beads are so representative of that time. To me June was always fashionably dressed and what’s more fashionable then a dark garment and white beads. She appears to be looking at one of her brothers, maybe it’s Bill. I just love the lady sitting opposite him with her dark glasses, I just love her hair style. Every curl seems to be put in place. Behind June you can just see who I think is Howard and three others, one of which I believe might be our Dick. To the right of Dick, with her back to the camera is a curly head which might belong to Nancy.
The contrast between the light from the sun and the dark of the shade may be what appeals to me the most. And while, I didn’t get to participate in this meal, I think a meal like this would be such a nice experience.
Dick Anderson, rank advancement with wife Sherigay and sons Todd and Kirk looking on
To me there’s two times of the year when I look for military photos to showcase for you; Memorial Day and Veterans Day. This photo gives me all the feels for a great military photo. Proud solider, with his family looking on as he is advanced in rank. But then I got to thinking, what do you have to do to get promoted in the United States Army? How does the Army decided who gets promoted and who doesn’t?
The Army takes the number of slots for each rank that it can have and then allocates them to the different Military Occupational Specialities or MOS. Last year it was reported that there were 1.3 million Active Duty personnel. That’s just active duty. It doesn’t even include those in the Reserve Units. 231 of them are Generals. Lets say one of them retires, there is now a vacancy and advancement can occur. That’s one of the things that has to happen in order to advance, there has to be a vacancy.
They don’t just look and see which Lieutenant Colonel is worthy and deserving of advancement. No. If you want to advance, the first thing you do is go before the promotion board. There you are judged on your personal appearance, your conversation skills, knowledge of world affairs, awareness of military programs, knowledge of basic soldiering (Soldier’s Manual) and the soldier’s attitude. There is an assessment of their performance and potential. If you score enough points and pass, your name is then placed on the “Recommended List”. Then as vacancies occur, the Army will consult this list to promote.
Dick was a Major when he retired. That meant when he entered the Army he was lucky to enter as an officer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. As a 2nd Lieutenant you lead two or more platoon sized units of 16-44 soldier’s. Within two years most will advance to the rank of 1st Lieutenant and lead more specialized units. Captain is the next rank. As a Captain, Dick would have controlled Company sized units of 62-190 soldier’s. His final rank was Major and it held the most responsibility. He served as primary staff officer for Brigade and task command. It was his duty to manage personnel, logistics and operational missions. And this was all as a Reserve Officer.
This weekend you can search for military records for free at Fold3. This is a genealogy site, dedicated to military records. When I have searched on past Memorial Day weekends, I tend to get overwhelmed at all the names of the soldier’s who gave the last full measure of devotion. I am sure Dick probably found himself at some time in his career faced with the knowledge of the sacrifice he was being asked to make. Luckily, his sacrifice was to be made one week-end each month and I hope he felt blessed that he was not asked to sacrifice by being placed in a combat situation. For those left behind, the knowledge that your loved one is safe is enough to make that sacrifice ok. But at times I’m sure his sacrifice was felt as he was absent for milestones and events that he missed. So during times when all his hard work and sacrifices were acknowledged, it was a proud family that pinned his new rank on and told him how proud they were of him.
Thank you Dick, Todd, Cris, Coy and any other veterans in our family for making that sacrifice for us all. Happy Memorial Day.
Hard to believe all that has happened in one year! Last year at this time, I was woking with a skeleton crew to serve the first responders of our community and wondering how we were going to survive and come back. I’m happy to say that work wise we are doing well. But 2020 was not a good year to write for me. On my designated writing days, I would struggle to bring to you content that was enjoyable and that I was proud of. Some days my mind was so much more on work or what was going on in the world around me that it was difficult to write, so I didn’t. That meant that there were not so many posts, but I did learn a lot even though the quantity was not much.
This year, I’ve been developing a new site in which I can run all three of my blogs in one place. I hope that it goes well and is easy for you to access. I can’t wait to bring you more photos and research in the coming months. But first lets look back at the photos from the 2020 posts.
