We finished the shadow boxes :)

We had alot of fun making these. I had no idea the extent of the project we were getting into. I had help from so many people on here and want to thank everyone. I'll get pictures of my grandpa with his.

Krystal

 

Great work Krystal! Your Grandpa can be proud of you! All the best to your Dad too.

 

Yes, outstanding!

 

Wonderful, so well constructed, dignified and classy. You should be proud of your presentation. I know full well it will be appreciated by all in your family. Any who helped here are proud and flattered to have been of any aid at all I'm sure.

 

Fantastic work!

 

It was great to take a look at these very nice shadow boxes. Thank you for sharing this viewing and showing this great example for all of us who have a wish to honor memories and services to our country.

 

Wonderful job, Krystal. Thank you for sharing with us.

 

looks wonderful! My grandfather put one together for himself. After he passed away I had it professionally done. You really put time and effort into that. Hang that proudly somewhere in the home where everyone can see it!

 

~ CLASS Krystal ~ and worth every penny spent

 

He is very proud of them, it made it so worth while to hear him say it (he left a message on my voicemail before he got ahold of me on the phone at home and I kept the voicemail-silly I know).

On a sad note though, my dad also left the notebooks we put together about their service for them to look through including his oldest brother that was KIA. All these years he of course knew he was dead, but never knew the details or maybe never cared to. He has recently been reading through them and it has learned all about his oldest brother, where he fought, what kind of battles he was in D Day +7, Hill 122 ( I think it was called) Falaise Gap (where he was killed). It has visibly bothered him, but he seems to also feel better knowing more about it. While reading the morning reports up to the day before he was killed and then reading that shortly after they made it to Paris and a short rest, he seemed to think if he had just made it to Paris, just a few more days, he would have been OK. I feel so sad about it and couldn't imagine what it must feel like to find out details about a loved ones death, but that is also the same thing that drove my dad and I to find out all we could. I felt we owed it to Bates and to the family to know why and how. My grandpa and his brothers were very close and the last time he saw Bates was when my grandpa was still in HS and Bates was drafted and left for the war. Of course the war was a long ways from over and he still would have had the Battle of the Bulge to deal with. Such is war I guess.