lest we forget

My father in law at today's procession.

(Sopwith Camel photo courtesy of aviation history.com)

At the age of 20, my grandpa was a Lieutenant in WWI for the Royal Air Force and became an ACE, taking down seven planes while flying a Sopwith Camel, like the airplane pictured above. Hi co-pilot? A stuffed animal, with bullet holes through him. My dad still has the stuffed animal to this day, along with his father's fascinating flight log book. My grandpa also served in WWII and survived the trenches. He died 10 years before I was born. I wish I could have met him and asked him about this period of history.

Today we took our little one to the local Remembrance Day ceremony to applaud the old veterans as they walked by, proudly donning their medals. As airplanes soared above and the bagpipes played, I had a lump in my throat, thinking of how young, how brave and how vulnerable these troops were and are to this day. 

xo