To the editor:

After picking up the Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th Messenger, I put it down and got pen and paper out after reading page with the letter. Always good to read those, knowing there are people that have same thoughts as me. A few weeks ago we had a celebration put on by family for our local weekly editor for his 50 years of his paper. Since that day, I have been wanting to get another one of mine to you.

Just had another birthday this past week which seems bigger each year. Two years ago my 80th fell on Easter Sunday. At that year, I started assembling a personal life story book of my life. My mother saved all newspaper stories and pictures of me and my three younger sisters. I continued to add to these in my years. So I would suggest any family member to do that as I learned so much family history from that project.

I have a full weekly newspaper from my hometown weekly paper from Oct. 19, 1944. Front page has three local soldiers from that area who lost their lives in World War II, including my Dad’s only brother from that small Iowa town of 800 population. My uncle got killed when I was 3-years-old, which was before memory.My grandpa and grandma had him brought back to home when I was 7-years-old and I can remember that like it was yesterday. Casket sat in their home with a soldier on each end of casket til after the services.

I became a Gold Star family member for second time when the son of my sister and brother-in-law from the same hometown was one of the 22 Navy SEALs helicopter got shot down in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. Many readers may remember that story as it went all across the country. He had a personal dog whom he ran with in his off times. That dog was brought to the services by his handler from Texas. Walked in with casket and laid by casket unleashed through whole service.

I could write more, but have to give thanks to The Messenger who were involved with my Honor Flight in spring of 2018 to cover that story, and with Mr. Ron Newsum and his board, the Calhoun County Veterans Affairs Office, my niece board member Marlene Welander walked the long walk to the graves of many of those SEALs personal graves. A tombstone, same as all the others, including my nephew and all the SEALs unidentified body parts are there together.

Thank you Messenger.

John Jacobs

Manson