Dick Field

Dan's grandpa, Dick Field, was an amazing man. He served in the Navy in WWII in his younger years, then came home and ran a giant successful lumber mill.

It was nice being up in Chino Hills around Dan's extended family that he never gets to see, and listen to the nice things that were said about his grandpa. One neighbor told me that Dick was one of the best men he's ever met, actively asking about people, and offering a helping hand when they needed it. He told me that everyone who met Dick liked him.

One told the story of how Dick's house was broken into and a bunch of things were taken, Dick couldn't find a rifle he had in the house and reported it stolen, receiving a $2,500 dollar check from the insurance company for compensation. Well, years later when they moved, he found the rifle wedged between the head board of his bed and the wall, so he sent a note to the insurance company along with a check for $2,500 dollars. That's remarkable. Nobody does that sort of thing.

He was buried in the Riverside National Cemetery. I love military funerals. I love the taps. I love watching the flag get folded up, and honoring the service given to our great country. Someone told us at that cemetery they have 250 burials a day, 30 of which are WWII veterans.

It's been 69 years since D-Day... the more I learn about that day, and the older I get, the more emotional I get about it. Dan and I watch a lot of war movies, and the ones depicting this day do something to me I can't put into words. You read about the numbers and it's staggering, a movie can do a good job of depicting how great and terrifying this day was, but I'm sure it's still a small window of what it was really like. It was the largest amphibious invasion in world history...  73,000 Americans, 61,175 British, and 21,400 Canadians... 195,700 allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships. It had only been about 150 years since American had claimed her freedom, think about that for a second, 150 years and America's sons were fighting for freedom again. Now, seventy years since then, and I will admit that I am terrified for the future. I think our civil liberties are be destroyed, and that our freedoms aren't so free anymore. 69 years ago... young men like my brothers were jumping out of planes, my grandpa's (all three) were somewhere on ships praying that D-Day would be successful. It was so real to them. And in such a short time we all forget.