Jewells of Thought

I do love this question yet as a historian it’s difficult to pin print one event. It took Grandpa Leo’s death and hearing literally hundreds of friends and family say the phrase Prisoner of War at his viewing. That moment in time impacted me in staggering ways.

Not only did it send me on a mission as a granddaughter seeking information of his service time; I learned to love and appreciate genealogy and history in general. That one event opened up a life of reading and research and experiences that have made me the woman I am today. I am so grateful I was born into musical talent, but God has used my abilities and gifts as a musician and historian in ways I could never foresee.

Due to this enlightening moment as a teenager I made acquaintances with family I didn’t recognize and got to learn the names of my ancestors who fought on both sides of the American Revolution. Plus I was introduced to characters from World War II I didn’t hear about in high school but from College professors. The Preacher who looked like a sports star but quoted scripture and knew and played classical music with gusto within his large family. Germans who regretted their allegiance to Hitler like the Count, Claus von Stauffenberg who was executed on July 20 1944 for his part in an failed assassination attempt.

This German Preacher and this highly respected Army officer gave me hope that some Germans did in fact attempt to stop that madman. Up to the point before this class on Nazi’s, yes I know the title could have used a little more finesse. I was not learning to be one for a long time I had a bias towards Germans College opened my eyes. Plus I got to sing next to a beautiful young German woman close to my age that altered my perception.

My family came from Germany before the Revolutionary War I’m stuck having a German heritage with at least 4 sides of my family being German. Knowing this now has been an amazing gift, but there is one more thing that night at the viewing parlor showed me.

My grandpa had heart problems due to the conditions during his imprisonment. In the immediate after thought of his death I began looking at medical terminology. I was intrigued by the words and how the words came together. Finally I took classes in Medical Coding, worked in a nursing home and then after a major surgery took an even bigger step and worked for a Dialysis Clinic cleaning patients blood.

All of this because of the unfolding events of Grandpa’s stroke. So really this could be all back from the stroke a week from his death or say it was his time as a prisoner. Still God got my attention and I have went different directions because of that one event that so devastated and fascinated me and my family.