Friday Morning: My Dad

West Fargo, ND in the 1930s

Good morning Conflucians.

It’s a sad day for me today. My father died suddenly yesterday afternoon. He would have been 88 in May. We aren’t sure what happened, just that he went outside by himself to putter around–something he wasn’t supposed to do, but he could never stop himself. He was the kind of person who always needed to be doing something. Dad had been falling down a lot for the past few years, and this time was the last time. I guess I always knew that eventually something like this would happen.

In some ways it’s better than a long, painful death from disease. I’m still pretty numb from the shock. Mainly, I keep staring off into space and sometimes I cry. I know it hasn’t really hit me yet. I knew it was coming, but I hoped that I would be able to be there when it happened. Now I just want to be there for my mom and celebrate my dad’s life with my family.

I’m getting my car checked out this afternoon, and I’ll probably leave for Indiana tomorrow or Sunday. My youngest sister is with my mom now, and my other younger sister will be there today. One of my brothers will be there today. My youngest brother, who lives here in the Boston area, is driving out with his family soon.

I wanted to share this with you, because I think of all of you as my friends. Please don’t be sad for me. My dad had a good life. He had a successful career as a college professor, and he touched many many students over the years. Some of them have even contacted him in the past few years to let him know how much his teaching meant to them. He and my mom raised five children and had a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

My dad was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1922. He lived through the dust bowl and Great Depression years, and I know his childhood wasn’t easy. His family struggled to make ends meet, and my dad sold papers and magazines as a boy to help out after his father lost his eyesight in a shooting accident. After high school, my dad went to college at North Dakota State–then it was North Dakota Aggie. He joined the army reserves to get help paying for college.

When dad was only 19, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and his regiment was called up and sent to the Pacific. The North Dakota 164th regiment trained in Louisiana and left the U.S. for Australia in March of 1942 and then on to New Caledonia where they became part of the Americal Division. In October, 1942, they landed on Guadalcanal where the Marines were stranded and almost out of food and ammunition.

Members of the 164th became known as “jungle fighters” in U.S. media, named for the terrain in which they fought. The infantry was also given the nickname “The 164th Marines” for their bitter fight against the Japanese in the Battle for Henderson Field and the Battle of the Matanikau on the island, and became the first U.S. Army unit to take offensive action during World War II.

During the first five days of the 164th’s landing at Guadalcanal, 117 men were killed. During the battle for Henderson Field, an estimated 1,700 Japanese were killed, while the 164th suffered 26 killed and 52 wounded. The 164th continued with other battles and patrols through February 1943, and the unit saw 147 men lose their lives. The regiment received the Navy’s Presidential Unit Citation.

Soldiers settling in after the Japanese retreated on Guadalcanal

I know Guadalcanal was very tough for my dad. He hardly talked about his service until the last few years. I know there was one battle in which he was the only survivor of his company.

The 164th left Guadalcanal and moved on to Bougainville, part of the Solomon Islands, where it served until November 1944. During World War II, the 164th spent nearly 600 days in combat and 325 men were killed in action, while 1,193 men were wounded in action.

After the war, dad went back to North Dakota Aggie on the G.I. Bill. That was where he met my mom, in a political science class. A few years ago my parents and I went back to North Dakota, and my dad showed me the classroom where he first met my mom. I saw the church where they were married, and we visited their childhood homes. I was born while my parents were living with his mom and dad in Fargo.

After getting degrees in English and economics, my dad went on to get his masters degree at North Dakota University in Grand Forks. Then we moved to Iowa for a year and then to Lawrence, Kansas, where my dad got his Ph.D. After a couple more moves, we settled in Muncie, Indiana, where my dad taught in the English Department at Ball State University. For a time he worked as Dean of the Honors Program, but he really preferred teaching to administrating.

Dad retired early, and was able to spend time thinking, reading and traveling with my mom. He was there for me when I decided to go back to school in the early ’90s. He lived long enough to know that I finally got my Ph.D.

I didn’t have an easy childhood either. My dad was often an angry man–I’m sure he was depressed at times. He was often very cruel when I was a child and through my teens. I left home when I was 19, and my other two sisters left around that age too. Back in the ’80s, I worked hard to deal with all my childhood stuff, and I was able to build a close relationship with my dad. I always stayed close with my mom. After all the work I did on myself, I was able to let go of resentments and understand that both of my parents also had difficult childhoods. I always knew they loved me, and that was very important.

In recent years, my family has been much closer than we were after we all left home. I’m so grateful that I was able to renew my relationships with my siblings and to spend time with my mom and dad. We will all get together next week, and talk about my dad and our memories of him.

I wanted to share this with you, and I hope you don’t mind. Please use this as an open news thread and post any stories that you are reading this morning. My dad loved to follow politics, and so does my mom, so I grew up hearing about it. Politics was something we could always talk about together.

Here are a few stories to get you started.

Bernie Sanders: Obama Has Tragically Lost The Youth, Antagonized Unions

Speaking at a progressive media summit, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called it a “tragic mistake” that the White House fruitlessly chased Republican votes on health care rather than take advantage of the ripe environment to pass legislation.

“What is very sad is we had hopes that [the] election was transformational in the sense of bringing people into the political process who have never been in it before,” Sanders said. “I tried very hard in Vermont to bring young people into the political process. It is very hard to do. Obama did it. But you know where those young people are now? They are not in the political process. They really aren’t. We have lost them. We have antagonized trade unionists. We have not done well with seniors. I don’t think we have done well with women. And I think that was a tragic mistake.”

NYT Caucus blog: Timing of Obama Indonesia Trip Questioned

Obama has now cancelled the trip, according to Politico.

Naked Capitalism: NY Fed Under Geithner Implicated in Lehman Accounting Fraud Allegation

Have a great Friday, everyone!