Tag Archives: Military Life

A Memorial Day Tribute

25 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Growing up, I only had a small nodding acquaintance with the military. I knew that my Dad had served in World War 1 as a medic, because he refused to carry a weapon. And my Mother worked in accounting at Kirtland AFB in town. She would occasionally bring home some of those young airmen that she worked with. They were usually quite homesick, and she was attached to them. But that was my only connection with the military.

Until I met Fred.

He was in Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico (UNM) (a story in itself), but his family was far away in Japan. I learned that his Dad was a military chaplain, and that they had traveled the world.

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About the time Fred and I married and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, his family moved to Bossier City, Louisiana (Barksdale AFB) – near Shreveport – just about a four-hour drive for us. We visited them as often as we could on weekends. That was my first real taste of the military life – staying in their quarters on base.

But it wasn’t until Fred actually went into the Air Force that I came to know about true military life – we began to live it, ourselves. I began to see how dedicated men and women were to serving and protecting their country. I began to see how this country that I love so much could possibly be speaking German – or Japanese – if it weren’t for those who were willing to give their lives for our freedom through both World Wars.

I became fiercely patriotic. And I also became fiercely proud of my husband, his father, my brother, and our father – for the contributions they all made to our freedoms.
When Fred’s Dad died, the military funeral was absolutely breath-taking.

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The flag was folded and presented, with a salute.

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We have that folded flag in a case. It is a constant reminder to us of what the military life means to the men and women of our armed forces. I know that not all military personnel are as dedicated to this country – but I could probably venture a guess that at least 95% of them are willing to give up their lives to protect our freedoms.

Have you ever visited the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery in D.C.?

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Seeing it, and the Marine guard, is one of the most moving and emotional experiences for me. I’m so glad that this country honors it’s military as it does. It shows that we still have “heart” and love of country. And I am so grateful that God has allowed me to live in this free country.

May God bless the U.S.A.

 

Psalm 147:7
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise

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Old Friends

11 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

We have been blessed to have been able to travel a lot of this earth. We’ve seen many places that I had only heard of while in school (elementary, Junior High, High). And everywhere we’ve traveled, we’ve made friends. Some have stayed near and dear to us, others have fallen by the wayside, and we’ll just see them when we all get to heaven, and renew our friendships there.

And some have just stayed so close to us that they feel almost like family. Like the young man that we met when we first arrived in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1967. He was actually younger than Fred, but was Fred’s “superior” in rank. But then, Fred had those extra four years of schooling that Paul didn’t have, so………

He was an interesting young man, and we enjoyed his company a lot. After he left Germany, the Air Force transferred him to Minot, North Dakota, and from meteorology to “Missile Launch Officer.” Well, that didn’t last too long, and he got out of the military.

Next thing we know, he is attached to Wycliffe Bible Translators. We are pleased, because he has become a believer in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and wants to be a part of spreading the Good News to as much of the world as he can.

He married another Wycliffe member about 10 years later, and they had two children. They have traveled the world with Wycliffe, being missionaries everywhere they went.

We have had the wonderful privilege of meeting up with Paul and his family through the years, and supporting them spiritually and financially. Their children are grown now, and away from home, but Paul and Joyce continue to work with Wycliffe. He is in accounting, and Joyce has been a pre-school teacher – to missionaries children, and others wherever they have been.

We had a recent visit with them, and though it was a short visit, we renewed our friendship, and had a grand time just talking, and revisiting past times together. We talked about their time in Darwin, Australia, in Malaysia, and in Singapore. We also talked about what they are doing in Dallas, Texas at this time. We told them about our church here, our ministry there, our new pastor…all the things that we love and enjoy about the body of believers we are a part of here.

He reminded us that we had given him a “gift” before he left Germany – a copy of the “Good News for Modern Man: The New Testament in Today’s English.” It left such an impression on him – that he could read and understand the Bible in modern English – that he sought out salvation. We don’t even remember giving him the book.

It was a joyous and wonderful time together. We thank God for His wisdom in allowing us to have “forever” friends – those we enjoy here on this earth, and know that we will rejoice with them in heaven.

couple

 

 
I thank my God every time I remember you.

Philippians 1:3

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A Memorable Trip Across the Desert~Part 2

30 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

So we headed down the road, as fast as the old flathead “V8” would take the Mercury, and safely pull the trailer, all the time watching the temperature gage closely. If we didn’t come to a “Trading Post/Filling Station” before the temperature gage reached “Hot”, we would pull over and pour the two bags of water into the radiator and take off again. Somehow, we managed to limp from station to station, across the remaining (?) miles of desert and into Albuquerque the next afternoon. I didn’t have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel that night. Whew! Was that ever a stressful trip! Wouldn’t you know it, our friend Leon, thinking we would get into Albuquerque in plenty of time for some rest, had set us up to attend a New Year’s Eve party that evening. Remember, we had not had any sleep for over 30 hours. But, we got cleaned up, left the Mercury dripping in DiVoran’s folks’ driveway and went to the party in Leon’s can. DiVoran’s aunt commented as we walked out the door to our last party for a long time, “Oh, I’m so glad I’m not young anymore.” We managed to stay awake until midnight, and had a great time, but then we slept until almost noon before DiVoran’s dad, Ivan, woke us.

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 That afternoon, after a diligent search for an open auto parts store, Ivan helped me replace the leaking water pump. We added antifreeze to the cooling system since the temperature was below freezing in Albuquerque at night. After I drove the Mercury around several blocks to make sure everything was working right, we discovered the antifreeze had eaten thru the seals in the second water pump, and we had to drain the system and replace that pump too. That finally took care of the water pump problem, and we installed the proper thermostats so DiVoran would have a working heater during the winter.

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The rest of my leave was spent having a great visit with my folks, my aunt Jessie and Granny. DiVoran and I had a T-bone steak dinner with all the trimmings at our favorite “Mom & Pop “ restaurant down town, and a superb lobster dinner at our favorite seafood restaurant uptown in the Nob Hill area. When my leave was up, I said goodbye to friends and family, left DiVoran with her folks and took the train back to San Diego and my ship. That was a lonely trip, but as usual the U.S. Navy found lots of things to keep me busy for the next eight months.

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When I look back at some of the things we did as “Young Adults”, it’s hard to believe we had the nerve to strike out on adventures like that, thinking nothing of the possible challenges we might come up against. Oh well, that was back when we were all young and indestructible. Remember those times? Back in the “Good Old Days?”

 

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Frau Katie

30 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

 

I’ve mentioned Frau Katie before (September 1, 2013), and how we came to love her as part of our family. She was such an important part of our lives when we lived in Wiesbaden, Germany.  I also mentioned in that blog, that she came to visit us when we lived in San Antonio, Texas.  We wrote many letters back and forth to arrange a time for her to visit. She also had some other friends in the States to visit, so she would be with us for one week, then she would move on to visit her other friends.  The time was set – May of 1973.

 

Frau Katie with Judy, Karen and Janet. Along the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas

Frau Katie with Judy, Karen and Janet.
Along the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas

 

Katie began asking what she could bring us from Germany – to remember our time there, as well as a remembrance from her.  I don’t remember just what I told her to bring for me – I just wanted her presence with us again.  But I distinctly remember that I flippantly told her to bring Fred “a Mercedes Benz!”

Well, she did just that!!  Isn’t it a beauty? All those moving parts…….

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Fred has had such fun with that little car, and it sits on our bedroom dresser where he/we can see it every day.  Our older grandson always enjoyed playing with it when he came to visit.  I’m sure our younger grandson will do the same. I’m not sure he’s discovered it yet.3

 

 

In spite of the fact that I didn’t really ask for anything from Katie, she brought me a lovely present anyway.  It is the 1973 Hummel plate.

 

 

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I have always enjoyed the Hummel figurines I have, but this is really special. Somewhere along the line I was told that this year’s plate (1973) had something unique about it……..but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was!

 

In any case, I have it on a easel in our dining room side board, and enjoy looking at it. And I always think of Frau Katie and her generosity when I look at it.

 

 

 

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Tumbling Angels and The Leaning Tower

23 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

                                                     

Judy Wills

 

I essentially grew up in one town.  Okay, I was born in Dallas, Texas, but we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when I was nearly four years old, so….  From that standpoint, my Mother was rather surprised that I “adjusted” so well to a military life.  Of course, that wasn’t what Fred and I had planned when we met and married, but God had other plans that were infinitely better than ours.  Fred did promise me that we would “see the world” when he proposed to me.  Little did we know how that would transpire.

But I have to say that I really enjoyed military life.  Except for my brother being in the U.S. Navy for a while, I really wasn’t exposed to military life until I met Fred – or more specifically, his family.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when he joined the Air Force.  They sent us to California, then to Germany – something beyond my wildest dreams.   I really loved being in both of those places.  I still have a fondness for California, but don’t think I would like to live there now.  But Germany………..WOW!  We enjoyed it so much that Fred requested – and was granted – a second tour there.

While we had many adventures in Germany, one of the last things we did was to take in the Oberammergau Passion Play.  Magnificent!  From there, we drove down to Italy.  We went to Venice:

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St. Marks Square (Piazza San Marco) with
St .Mark’s Campanile

We went to Florence

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St. Mary’s Cathedral

We went to Trieste where Fred’s family lived following World War 2.

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Miramare Castle in Trieste

He showed me the building where they had lived.

via Carducci #2 - they lived in the "mezzanine"

via Carducci #2 – they lived in the “mezzanine”

 

We went to Pisa and saw the Leaning Tower and the church and baptistry.  Amazing!

The church and the leaning tower – it REALLY leans
The Baptistry

 We had been told about a little shop in Pisa that had some unique alabaster, marble and composition pieces, so we went to shop.  Our informants were correct – the merchandise was wonderful.  We purchased two marble lampstands.  We purchased some alabaster “fruit.”  And we purchased a set of composition tumbling angels.  I just thought they were really cute, and weren’t too expensive.  We have continued to enjoy all these things throughout all those years. 

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I continue to get tickled every time I look at – or dust – those tumbling angels.  They are just cute to see, but they always remind me of that trip we took, and that little shop in Pisa where we purchased them.  It’s a great memory.

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Earthquake

2 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

                                                    

I don’t remember there being much said about earthquakes in New Mexico as I was growing up.  Many other parts of our country – and the world – had earthquakes, but not New Mexico.  It used to fascinate me how the earth would “shift” and rub against another part of earth and produce such a thing. I never thought I would be involved in an earthquake, myself.  But it did happen.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a very big quake, but it was definitely enough to shake me up just a bit.

Fred and I were living in San Jose, California at the time, probably sometime in 1966, where Fred was acquiring his degree in Meteorology from San Jose State College, in preparation for his military service.  Fred’s dad was Command Chaplain for the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) (headquartered in Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio) at that time.  One of his duties was to visit the chaplains and the inspect the working of their respective chapels within AFLC.  One of those was in Sacramento, California.  So, when he came to visit that AF base, he brought Fred’s mother with him, so they could visit with us as well.

Kitty and Charles Wills 1980

Kitty and Charles Wills

We drove from San Jose to Sacramento and settled down in a hotel room.  Fred’s mother and I stayed in the hotel room and visited, while Fred and his dad visited the base chapel.  I was sitting on the bed in our room – knitting a sweater as I remember – and all of a sudden, the bed began to move!  It was an up-and-down movement, and nothing strong enough to toss me off the bed or anything, but definite movement!!

The movement didn’t last very long, but we were both going “what was THAT??!!”  Turns out, it WAS a mild earthquake.

I doubt that we were on the big fault line that will “someday” break California in half and dump it into the ocean, but it certainly gave us pause.

It certainly also gave me reason to know that I am prepared – ready – to meet my death, if it is in God’s timing for me to join Him.  I’ve tried my best to rely upon Him each and every day since then, to be ready for whatever He calls me to do.

My God is such a GOOD God!  And I love him.

One of my favorite scripture passages:

 1 Chronicles 29: 10-11

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.”

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Hey Cuz

23 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

                                                    

As I’ve said before, my Father was one of 13 children.  So there were lots and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins.  Whenever we would head to Louisiana for a summer visit, we would “disperse” – my parents would stay in Grandmother’s house, my brother stayed with one boy cousin, and I would stay with a girl cousin.  Lots of fun memories with those outings.

One of those cousins, Milton, is the one my brother stayed with most of the time.  They were fairly close in age, and just seemed to hit it off.  I’m sure Bill could tell of some great times they had together.

Cousin Milton

Cousin Milton

So it was a bit surprising to find Milton and his wife at the seminary, when Fred and I landed there for Fred’s study.  While not terribly close – he was several years ahead of Fred – we still managed to get together with them a few times. Time went on – many years, in fact.  We knew that Milton and his wife had gone to the mission field as “music missionaries” to Taiwan.

Milton
Milton with parents Ray and Estelle Lites

And then we found ourselves in Orlando, and I became the church secretary for our church.  Our pastor asked at one point, that I look up the missionaries that were having their birthday each week, and publish their names and birth date, so our congregation could pray for them.  We had heard from so many missionaries that they felt especially blessed on their birthdays, since they knew people across the USA were praying for them on that day.

In the process of looking for those missionary’s names, I suddenly remember – Hey! I have a cousin who is/was a missionary!  Milton!  So I researched his name, and low-and-behold, he was on furlough from the mission field!  He had gone from Taiwan to the seminary in Columbia to teach.  So I found his e-mail address and sent off a message – “do you remember me?  Your cousin?”   He wrote back right away, and we re-established our connection after 30 years!   Amazing!

But that’s not the end of the story.  This same pastor loved to have a “Missions Conference” at our church each year.  We would have missionaries from the international field, the USA field, the Florida field, and the Orange County field come and speak to us on different Sundays.  After I had re-established connection with Milton, I asked the pastor if he would like Milton to come as the international missionary speaker one year.  He agreed, and I contacted Milton again.  He came that time, spoke in the worship services, and stayed a few days with us.  We even had Bill and DiVoran meet us for a meal, so we could connect again as a family.  It was such fun!

Milton and his wife went back to the mission field, but to Shanghai.  While we continued to e-mail each other, we had to be very careful in the wording of our messages.  We couldn’t talk about church  God.  As a matter of fact, once Milton mentioned that they had about five people “go swimming” for the first time that week.  We understood that to mean they had been baptized!  And when I had been diagnosed with cancer, and I wrote that information to him, he wrote back that he had “talked to Daddy, and everything is going to be okay!”  Daddy being God.

Milton has retired now, but we are on facebook with each other, and continue to be in touch.  I love the ways God has brought us back into each other’s lives.

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Daddy

2 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

My Daddy was quite a guy.  As I’ve said before, he was born in 1892, and was 20 years older than my Mother.  But he was a good Daddy, and really was a “Daddy” rather than a stiff “Father.”  I was, occasionally, exasperated with him in my teenage years – I guess as all teenagers are with their parents – but loved him dearly.  He died when I was 25 and pregnant with my first child.  I always regretted that neither of our children got to know their grandpa, and I miss him still.

 

But he could be really funny.  I remember that, when Mother was working in accounting at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, she would quite often invite some of the single, lonely, homesick airmen to church with us on Sundays, then to our house for Sunday dinner.  Around the table, one of Daddy’s favorite things to tell these guys was that he was from a large family.  He would state that there were eight boys, and each of them had five sisters.  Then he would pose the question: “How many of us children were there in the family?”  You could almost see the steam coming out of their ears as the wheels turned as they computed the numbers.  While most got the joke within a reasonable time, I remember one young man staring at Daddy, eyes bulging out, and said “58?!!”  Then Daddy would howl with delight and inform them that all eight boys had the SAME five sisters!  There were only 13 children in the family.

Since Daddy was older when he and Mom married (45), they started their family rather quickly.  When my brother was born, Daddy was so proud that he sent off a telegram to his parents.  Mom told me that his dad sent back a nice, long, newsy letter about everything going on in Louisiana.  Then he ended the letter with:  “Son, we are happy to hear about the birth of your son.  But you must realize – it just RAINS grandchildren down here.”  Mom said Daddy’s balloon just deflated at that!

 

T.J. & Mattie Lites with 10 of their children. Daddy is back row, 4th from left

T.J. & Mattie Lites with 10 of their children.
Daddy is back row, 4th from left

Being the farm boy that he was, he loved to finish the meal with a slice or two of a tomato, rather than dessert.  He loved the desserts, as well, but….

He had some “sayings” that we always enjoyed.  Well, enjoyed MOST of the time.

  •    The traffic will eventually all run by (sometime eventually took longer than others – and Fred always said, “well, Daddy was right again”
  •    This roast is just no good – it just falls off the bone!
  •      As you know, breakfast (lunch/dinner) is one of my three main meals of the dayGranny, Aunt Jessie, Daddy - in his p.j.'s - Mom, Dora Bowers, DiVoran Lites - 1961          Granny, Aunt Jessie, Daddy – in his p.j.’s – Mom, Dora Bowers, DiVoran Lites – 1961 

Once, when Fred and I were visiting Albuquerque, Fred had gone out driving with Daddy.  That evening, Fred related this story of the day, but could hardly get it out for all his giggling.  They were driving along – Fred driving – and Daddy cleared his throat, turned his head, and spit.  Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the window was still closed!  Fred said Daddy cleaned off the window then turned his head back to Fred and sheepishly said, “that’s only the second time in my life I’ve done that.”  Fred said he had to “bite his tongue” to keep from laughing out loud!

Bill Lites in Albuquerque, NM

Bill Lites in Albuquerque, NM

It’s such fun to remember my Daddy.  But the best part is knowing that some day I will be reunited with him and won’t ever have to leave him again.

Bill Lites in the stocks - Williamsburg, VA

Bill Lites in the stocks – Williamsburg, VA

Bill Lites with daughter, Judy Wills, and granddaughter, Charlene Lites

Bill Lites with daughter, Judy Wills, and granddaughter, Charlene Lites

                    

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Word Association

31 Jan

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

Is there a secret to having a good memory?
If there is, won’t you share?

As a military wife, I found myself always
in a social setting-
meeting new people everywhere.

I tried “word association”
where you picture things in your mind.
For instance, when I met a Mrs. Finnifrock.
I pictured a dress with a fish tail on the back-
truly one of a kind.

SO, what did I call her when we met again?
All I remembered was the fish tail!
Instead of “Mrs. Finnifrock “
“Mrs. FISHBACK” was my anxious wail!

P S. “There” seems to be the most common name
We hear it everywhere-
When memory fails, and the name won’t come,
We cheerfully exclaim, “HELLO.There!”

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Before and After War

20 Jan

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

Before and After War

Before Daddy went away to war

He worked in a tomato plant.

Working hard, that’s what dads are for.

He didn’t rave and he didn’t rant.

When Dad got home, he laid down to rest

I sat on the end of the couch each night

To us that part of the day was best.

I stroked his hair, I did it right.

But while he was away at war

He got hurt inside, I guess

He was different, bruised and sore.

And he doesn’t lay on the couch anymore.

 

I’d still like to stroke his hair,

And make him feel all better.

But I guess that I can’t help him

He’s now an old war vetter.

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