Are you a hero?

I have known the name of my maternal grandfather for some time. I also knew that he was a soldier who died in 1918, when my mother was ten years old.

Putting two and two together I assumed my grandfather, William Johnston, died in battle somewhere. I was not able to discover where he was buried for some time.

Recently I found out through ancestry.com that he never served in a battle of any kind. He died of the flu on a Washington state Army base. He is buried in Bellingham, Washington.

Of course, he died many years before I was born and I never knew him. The facts are a little disappointing. For some time I really thought he was a war hero. As Memorial Day comes around every year I think of my grandfather.

Although both of my sons have been in the service, one in the Army and the other in the Navy, nobody has lost their life while serving. My oldest son even served in Desert Storm and survived. Memorial Day doesn't apply to him, but Veteran's Day does.