Srgnt First Class

Srgnt First Class

Grandpa was born a Corn Husker
nine years before the market crashed.
One of nine, he grew
tall, lanky
a cornstalk topped
with dark tassels,
eyes like rich soil.

From cornfields to battlefields,
he mopped up Omaha Beach
before the ocean could rinse
the blood from the sand.

In combat boots he toured
the arid sands of North Africa
and the stony ridges of Italy.

A grenade tore through
his best friend, like a combine
through a field
and planted kernels of steel
deep beneath Grandpa's flesh.

And left day and nightmares of war

Cropping up for the rest of his life.

Saving freedom overseas
he lost a son
on a stateside base
a child playing army.

Back home the war continued when
leukemia tried to lay siege
his strength
but Grandpa charged the battle lines
and forced it to retreat.

To support his family
he drove a CAT in fields owned

by a Fortune 500

and secured smooth landings
for the early space shuttles.

Grandpa has outlived
his children and wife
but he lives in 1945, and
it’s been ten years
since he knew my name.

Today fluid surrounds
Grandpa’s heart
as I wheel him through
the hospital wing.
It stopped beating once
twenty years ago
but Grandpa refused
to surrender in defeat.

He wears his rank insignia
proudly displayed on his cap.
The hospital guard
snaps to attention and 
salutes as we roll past.

Without a moment’s hesitation,
Grandpa salutes him back.

____________________________________________________________________________

Notes: For Veterans Day.

My grandpa, Boyd Dinehart, died in 2008 at the age of 87. I wrote this poem in 2007. 

The day was etched in my mind because Grandpa forgot so much, but he never forgot his service. 

The son lost "on a stateside base" was his 13 year old step-son (Grandma was 17 years older than Grandpa).  The boy was killed on the Fort Ord artillery range. The condensed story is: The brothers slipped through a hole in the fence while they were exploring and they found a live round. Jimmy was killed instantly, and Richard lost both of his legs. 

Grandpa was off fighting the war, and Grandma had no recourse. There was no means to sue the US government at the time. So my grandmother got a bill passed through congress that changed the law. 

I am currently writing my grandmother's biography. 

I was so surprised when Rebecca put me on the phone with you in Denver. What a great friend she is. I had a bad cold and was asleep when she called. Thank goodness it wasn't a video call. 

Thank you for taking a moment to say, "Hello." Wish I could have been there.