I Held My Breath

Previously I felt uncomfortable visiting Uncle Michael and Aunt Jenny. They were polite and attentive to my stories of Poland and our family, but at the end of each visit, Michael would return to the dark memories of his childhood. Sometimes my aunt made excuses for why I couldn’t visit. When Aunt Jenny died, my uncle seemed to sink into a deeper despair.

I delivered my newly published book and waited to see if Uncle Michael would read it - acknowledge it - or throw it in a dusty corner. What transpired was the reaction I could not have imagined.

I visited and talked about the book along with the Family Tree I was building on Ancestry.com. Finally mustering a bit of courage, I asked, “Did you read the book?” “Yea, and ya know what? The best part was page 119.” I rushed to find his copy, turning to page 119. I laughed when I found it. It’s the page with a photo of he and Jenny as I retold the story of how they met and my mother’s wedding day.

Soon after I realized the man had an incredible mind, remembering my birthday, dates of military service, names of people involved with the family, all sorts of details which I, 20+ years younger, couldn’t do. Uncle Michael opened a flood gate of memory on that day and it just kept on coming with joy and amusement at each visit.

Cousin Wladek came from Poland, a newly discovered cousin came from Montreal, Michael’s kids gathered, and my son came from New Hampshire with his wife. Everyone enjoyed the stories, pictures, and my ‘Kielbasa making’ video made at the farm in Poland. Such joy - Michael absorbed all of it like a sponge.

He told detailed stories no one had heard before. In the Army during WWII, he landed on the beaches of Normandy on the second day of the invasion, waist high water, dead men all around him - He marched through France, Belgium and Austria with ground troops for a year and a half. He met General Eisenhower when he delivered a letter from his wife. He met General Patton. He served his time without complaint and rode a ship back home at the end of it. He never got shot. He had no battleground fatigue. He went home to his wife Jenny, worked in a factory and raised 5 children. He and Jenny were married for 72 years when she died.

Uncle Michael taught all of us a lot in his last days. Without my book we would have missed so much. We lost him in 2017 at 97 years old.

You can copy/paste this link to hear Podcast of this story.