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Veteran's Day - 2009

Veteran’s Day November 11, 2009 We have visible memorials standing through out this country as well as many countries abroad, honoring those who have served and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We can pick a veteran out of a crowd of people when they wear a certain hat, a pin or a uniform on days like Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July, but would we be able to identify a veteran at other times? Some veterans carry the obvious signs of their service – a missing limb, a deep jagged scar or that certain look in their eyes. So, who is a veteran? He’s my dad that stormed Omaha Beach at 19 years of age. He’s my uncle that flew 52 successful missions as an Air Force pilot over Italy. She’s my daughter-in-law that served in Dessert Storm, slept on the ground and yes, ate a bug or two. She’s my best friend who served 22 years in the Air Force before retiring but continues to serve as a leader in Soldiers Angels. She’s my niece who decided to join the Army Reserves and after...
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Remembering D-Day 65 Years Later

The Greatest Generation ... and what a generation they all are! Friday evening, June 5th, flipping through the television channels trying to find something decent to watch, I came across the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan". Like many times before I decided to watch it, trying to imagine my Dad 65 years later, walking across the green grass of the American cemetery in Normandy, France like "Ryan" did in the movie. I wondered what Dad would have thought today looking out into the calm of the English Channel at 85 years of age. Would he still see the burning LCI 92 he was on that never made it in ... his comrades laying on Omaha dead, wounded and screaming out for help ... the clear waters of the Channel today instead of the bloody waters he witnessed at 19. Would he feel peace today as opposed to hatred and war ... smell clean air over smoke, fire and death. These questions and more were racing through my mind as I watched the beginning of this movie. For now, my q...
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Veteran's Day ~ 2008

Veteran’s Day 2008 As a member of the ‘baby boomer’ generation, the elections behind us and wondering where the future will take us, one thing remains unchanged… the dedication our men and women in the Military have for this great nation of ours. They are our sons and daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and our neighbors. They come from different walks of life, all fifty states and don’t ask very much of us, just our support until they all return safely. Some have already paid the ultimate price… their lives. I have visited all the Memorials in Washington, DC as most of you have and sat in deep thought before the Vietnam Memorial where names of friends are etched in the cold black granite. Trying to comprehend what these young men and women endured was impossible. The World War II Memorial is another that holds a special place in my heart as my dad stormed Omaha Beach at 19 years of age. There are thousands of names on one and thousands of bronze stars ...
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A Few Thoughts and Acknowledgements Before Moving On To The Pacific Theater~

As one of the daughters of Ernie Doucette, I have read and re-read over six years of research and have come to the conclusion that even though my dad says he in no way was a 'hero', he certainly was. I started this blog with a quote from "Saving Private Ryan" that being "Earn This"... my dad, my hero .. the gentle soul that raised my sister, my three brothers and myself did indeed 'earn this'... and more. He may not have received his Medal from the French Government the way he and his comrades should have back when they were 19 and 20 year old soldiers, but none the less, he had his before he passed away. My dad was a man of integrity. He was the neighborhood softball pitcher and coach. He built snow forts with us after a hard day's work. He gave us a set of values on which to build our own lives ... God, family and country. He walked my sister and I down the aisle on our wedding day. Never a day went by when he told us to "ask your mother...
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"A 19 Year Old's Journey To Hell and Back"

Graduating from high school at 16 was quite an accomplishment back in the 1940's, but enlisting in the Service was the goal for my dad, Ernie Doucette. Having to wait a year because he wasn't eligible to join the military, he worked as a mechanic in Reading, MA. where he and his best friend, later to be my uncle, Phillip Burbine, aka: 'Chippy Burbine' as he was called, together they registered as members of the U.S. Air Force. My father really didn't find the Air Force to be what he wanted so he transferred to the U.S. Army so he could be "where the action was" to quote him. Dad was a second generation Army man to go to France as well, my grandfather was a World War I veteran. The Army sent my father to Clemson University for a semester of Engineering classes as they saw something unique in him that would later prove be a valuable investment on Omaha Beach and again the the Pacific Theater. Fort Devons MA. would be dad's new home for a while now. He sa...
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A Father's Legacy

My father "earned this"... A quote from the movie "Saving Private Ryan". My dad, Ernest P Doucette from Reading, MA., was a D-Day Veteran, a member of the 293rd Joint Assault Signal Company, part of the Army's 6Th Special Engineer Brigade. To me and my four siblings, he was just "Dad", but as a Corporal in the Army at 19 years of age, he was an Engineer, trained to set up communications once on Omaha Beach between them and The Navy and Air Force waiting in the English Channel for word to come ashore. Besides being an Engineer, he and others in his Unit were skillfully trained as some of the top "marksmen" the Army had in case things did not work out the way it was planned. And, that is exactly what happened. I opened this Blog with a quote from the movie "Saving Private Ryan" for a reason. Dad never was able to talk much about his Army days, but, when asked if he had seen the movie, his response was: "Yes, I took a side trip to...
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