TODAY I SAW MY GRANDFATHER, ENRIQUE RIVERA,”CRY” FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.
ME AND MY DAD WENT TO MY GRANDFATHERS HOUSE FOR A QUICK VISIT AND FROM OUT OF NOWHERE MY GRANDPA HANDS MY DAD A PEICE OF PAPER THAT SAID,,,,”BORINQUENEERS 65TH INF REG
3RD DIVITION” AND POINTED TO HIS COMPUTER.(his first)
MY GRANDFATHER SUFFERED A STROKE A YEAR OR SO AGO, AND ALTHOUGH STILL SHARP AS A TACK AND STILL DRIVING IN HIS LATE 70’S, LOST HIS ABILITY TO SPEAK. SOMETIMES WE CAN MAKE OUT WHAT HE IS TRYING TO SAY BUT MOST OFTEN HE JUST WRITES IT DOWN….
AT FIRST I DONT THINK MY DAD KNEW WHAT HE WANTED OR WHAT HE WROTE ON THE PAPER. I SAID TO MY DAD “I THINK HE WANTS YOU TO LOOK IT UP”…. WE “GOOGLE IT” AND WE CAME ACROSS YOUR WEBSITE. NOW I DONT KNOW IF MY GRANDFATHER HAD PREVIOUSLY VIEWED THIS SITE OR NOT. BUT AS SOON AS IT CAME UP MY GRANDPA STARTED TO SWELL UP. WE FINALLY CLICKED ON THE GALLERY AND WHEN HE SAW ALL THE PICTURES OF THE SOLDIERS HE STARTED TO “CRY”!… WOW, THAT WAS MOST UNEXPECTED I REMEMBERED THINKING.
IM 31 AND AS A KID I ALWAYS KNEW THAT MY GRANDPA USED TO BE IN THE ARMY. I COULD TELL BECAUSE WHEN EVER I WENT TO HIS HOUSE I SAW THIS HAT THAT SAID “KOREA VETERAN” WITH A LIGHT BLUE RECTANGLE PIN WITH A RIFLE IN THE MIDDLE, AND A 8X10 PICTURE OF HIMSELF WITH HIS RIFLE AND A GRENADE STRAPPED TO HIS SIDE ABOUT TO LOOK TROUGH HIS BANACULARS. I REMEMBERED AS I GOT OLDER INTO MY EARY TEENS I WOULD TRY TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAR. SOMETIMES HE WOULD GET INTO IT A LITTLE BIT, THEN CHANGE THE SUBJECT. BUT MOST OFTEN HE WOULD TRY TO IGNORE IT ALL TOGETHER. I COULD SEE THE EMOTION IN HIS FACE SO I TRYED NOT TO PRY SO MUCH.
TODAY HE TOLD “MY DAD” STORYS AND INFORMATION ABOUT HIS SERVICE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. IT WAS PRETTY AWESOME! I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THIS WEB SITE WAS THE SPARK!
KNOWING MY GRANDFATHER AND THE MAN THAT HE IS, TODAY I THINK I REALIZED WHAT HE WAS MOST PROUD OF. RIGHT,WRONG,GOOD OR BAD, IT WAS NOT HIS SONS OR HIS DAUGHTERS, GRANDCHILDREN OR SOME SORT OF AWARD,,,,,,,,,,,, IT WAS THE 65TH! THANK YOU
ROGER RIVERA