My great grandfather, Bill Shaw, was born in 1918 into a poor family of farmers. The Shaw family lived on land they owned and did not have many luxuries in n life. As a result of their poor upbringing, the Shaw family knew the value of a dollar. Around ten years after Bill was born, the Great Depression hit the United States and the majority of the country suffered as a result. While there were some minor setbacks, the Shaw family managed to avoid being greatly impacted by the Depression because they lived completely on their own land. My great grandfather always told me it was at that point in his life when he realized the value of hard work.
Only a few
short years after the Great Depression subsided, Bill was drafted to fight in World War II. He went to training in Arkansas in 1945, the same year his daughter was born. While the training process was straining, my great grandfather was no stranger to hard work, so he was able to thrive in the harsh environment. He was then shipped off to the Philippines, leaving his pregnant wife and family behind. His time in the Philippines was filled with emotionally, mentally and physically straining tasks that eventually led to his hospitalization due to “Trench Foot.” This was a common disease among World War II soldiers that was a result of never removing their wet boots after fighting in marshy areas. Thankfully, Bill returned home in 1947 to be reunited with his daughter that he had never met.
During his time at war, my great grandfather made a conscious effort to keep in contact with his family at home. As a result of the dependence they had o
n each other growing up, The Shaw family was not accustomed to being separated. Thankfully, Bill’s family saved many of the letters that they received from him during his time at war. When I began reading these letters, the realities of war and being away from home became very real to me. Bill always talked about the things he missed like home cooked meals, fishing with his brothers, and most importantly watching his newborn daughter grow up. These are all things that hit home for me as I realized these men who fought missed comforts of home just as much as I would. Nevertheless, my great grandfather stayed strong. He always maintained such courage even though he was in the hospital with a painful disease and away from those he loved.