by
Mary Malloy Bramstedt
(2-19)
Editor’s
Note – After a period of being disconnected from my notable friend,
Mary reappeared thanks to a new cell phone and members of the
community who passed along her number. I welcomed this opportunity to
correspond with her and suggested she compose new material for this
newspaper. What follows here is the result:
The
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is an historic time for
all members of the public who pause near the steps of our great
Geauga County Court House to hear the patriotic words of veterans who
have been presented medals of honor for their heroic deeds defending
our country in times of war. Their allegiance to God and country
makes us all proud to be Americans.
And
so it was on November 11, 2019 when I was privileged to listen to the
speech of Lt. Col. Allen Bernard West, who served 26 years in the
Army and was a US Congressman from Florida. He was the distinguished
military hero whom I spoke to about my Dad's service. I spoke to the
distinguished man afterward and told him I was proud to be there as
we prepared to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW 1. As
a daughter of WW 1. I was honored to tell tell him of my dad's
service
in the gas division of the "war to end all wars."
My
dad was James Trant "Pat" Malloy (b 1895--d 1967). He
married for the first
and
only time to my mother when he was 49 and she was 24! After his
military
service
ended he graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the U. of
Pennsylvania,
he traveled around the world and spoke five languages including
Arabic
and Yiddish since he worked in the Middle East as well as Europe. I
am
glad
he returned home to Williamsport, PA to meet and marry my mom. We
had a
wonderful
life and he was a youthful 64 when my baby brother Mike was born. My
brother
Pat and I were only in our teens and Mike was only eight when he went
to
be
with Our Lord and we have missed him dearly ever since.
