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<\/a>Each week I am Dash the Wonder Dog’s Uber driver<\/strong> to work.\u00a0 The job doesn’t pay much but it has a great perk –\u00a0 I get to meet a lot of wonderful senior citizens.\u00a0 I love old people, partly because I’m not too far off myself from soft foods and hearing aids.\u00a0 Many of the residents in the care center he visits are now well into their 90’s, which means they are part of the much-admired “Greatest Generation”.<\/strong>\u00a0 I love talking with them about their lives – most of them are so cheerful and love to talk about their life experiences, especially those events that occurred during the “Good War”.\u00a0 Of course, memories being what they are, I’ve heard a lot of the same stories over the past two years but the recollections are always told with such enthusiasm<\/strong> that it’s easy to be enthralled time and time again.\u00a0 When Dash first\u00a0 started his job there were three men who served in WWII.\u00a0 Last month the last of them, who was my favorite resident, passed away.\u00a0 Currently, the WWII generation is dying at a rate of 400 per day.\u00a0 So for today’s post I want to remember the special men Dash and I have met.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Seth-McKee-1-222x300.jpg\")
<\/a>General Seth McKee<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n The oldest, and certainly the most senior of the former military men was Four Star General Seth McKee<\/strong>.\u00a0 During WWII he held many group and division positions and in November 1944 he assumed command of the 370th Group.\u00a0 He\u00a0 served in France, Belgium and Germany, and logged more than 190 hours in 69 combat<\/strong> missions in the P-38 Lightning aircraft. \u00a0 Over the ensuing years he held increasingly responsible positions until finally,\u00a0McKee was appointed assistant vice chief of staff, U.S. Air Force. On 1 August 1969 he was named commander in chief of North American Air Defense Command and Continental Air Defense Command (NORAD\/CONAD).\u00a0 So he was quite a guy.\u00a0 By the time I met him he was 100 years old<\/strong> but was still pretty darn sharp.\u00a0 I was told that the general had been a dog lover all of his life so I took Dash into his room whenever he was awake.\u00a0 Shortly before he died I took Dash to visit and put him on the bed.\u00a0 General McKee petted him and told Dash what a good looking guy he was. \u00a0 So in addition to being a war hero he liked dogs and thought Dash was handsome – makes him pretty perfect in my book!<\/p>\n Mack Shumate<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Mack Shumate<\/strong> made no secret of his WWII service – as soon as you entered his room you couldn’t help but see the huge poster of him and his squadron taken during one of their missions in Europe.\u00a0 Mack navigated numerous B-24 squadrons<\/strong> during the war and then returned to begin a successful career in the coal industry.\u00a0 Whenever Dash would visit him, Mack’s aide (a Vietnam vet) would be in the room to attend to his needs.\u00a0 Usually the aide and I spoke and Mack would give Dash a quick brush of his hand.\u00a0 But on the final time I saw Mack he was all alone in the room.\u00a0 I asked if he wanted to pet Dash and he said he did.\u00a0 Dash laid down and it was the first time I saw Mack really touch him – he had a huge smile on his face<\/strong> the entire time.\u00a0 He died the next day and I like to think that Dash helped him have one last great experience – petting a dog.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Bill Hallas<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n The resident I was most fond of was Bill Hallas.<\/strong>\u00a0 The first time Dash visited him two things became evident – the love for his wife and his pride in his service.\u00a0 There were pictures of his wife and family – and dog – scattered around the room but the one that intrigued me was one of him with his wife taken during the war, he in his snappy uniform<\/strong> and her in a beautiful outfit with an overnight case in her hand.\u00a0 I asked him if it was their wedding picture and he told me “No, it’s when we were on our way to a celebration in Miami honoring returning war veterans.”\u00a0 That said, he whipped around to his nightstand and handed me a list of his WWII missions.\u00a0 It was impressive – 50 missions all over Europe<\/strong>.\u00a0 He said, “It was a good time to be 19 and not know any better.”\u00a0 His bookcase was overflowing with books about WWII and I never walked in his room that he wasn’t reading one.\u00a0 He also was sharp as a tack, with a great sense of humor.\u00a0 Due to a paralyzing stroke on one side he pushed himself backwards<\/strong> in his wheelchair everywhere he went.\u00a0 A few weeks ago I found that he had pushed himself down to the dining room at 10:30 in the morning.\u00a0 Lunch wasn’t served until noon so I asked him, “Mr. Hallas, are you down here waiting for lunch?”\u00a0 “Well,” he said, “I sure hope so or I’ve wasted a lot of energy!”<\/p>\n Over the past two years we’ve talked a lot about the war but he always told me something about his family<\/strong> too.\u00a0 He was so proud of all of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – I could tell he must have been a great dad.\u00a0 But the real connection between us was that we both loved dogs and we shared a birthday<\/strong>.\u00a0 Last summer Dash brought him chocolate on “our” birthday and he was thrilled.\u00a0 Shortly after that he installed a huge aquarium in the facility and dedicated it to his wife, who died several years ago and was a big animal lover.\u00a0 Last month when we visited him he was not in his room, as usual, but out in the common area staring at the aquarium.<\/strong>\u00a0 That was the last time we saw him.\u00a0 The next week I came around the corner into his room only to find it empty except for an attendant making up the bed.\u00a0 I cried that day and cry still when I think of him.<\/p>\n This generation of men, honed by the Depression and the War,<\/strong> are idols to me.\u00a0 Common, ordinary guys who thought it important to defend their country.\u00a0 They became the Citizen Soldiers that won the war, and then returned home to build successful lives and communities. I’m not sure we Baby Boomers ever truly appreciated all that they did, quietly and without fanfare<\/strong>.\u00a0 I worry that the Millennials, who require safe spaces,<\/strong> may not grow up to be quite as admirable.\u00a0 I hope they do – in their own way and in their own time.\u00a0 They need look no further that the “Greatest Generation” for inspiration.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Each week I am Dash the Wonder Dog’s Uber driver to work.\u00a0 The job doesn’t pay much but it has a great perk –\u00a0 I get to meet a lot of wonderful senior citizens.\u00a0 I love … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mack-Shumate.jpg\")
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