AMERICANWAY

HISTORY busy dock three years earlier. The mayor and his wife had collected donations from Southa mpton tow nsfolk of about $1,700 to be used for the education of Shimer 's daug hter, my g ra ndmother. The tow n of C h a mb er sbu r g r e sp onde d w it h a don a- tion of $3,000, as well as large shipments of apple s t o S out h a mpt on s c ho ol s a nd charities. Mayor Stranger would return to the U.S. for many Memorial Days to come, contributing a British wreath to Chambers- burg's ceremonies every year. My grandmother learned about her fa- ther from her mother and proud relatives, and they later regaled me with fascinating stor ies of my g reat-g ra nd father. W hen I was a little girl, I heard about his saxophone skills and even saw it glinting from a dusty box in the garage of my grandma's old house. I remember touching the brass taps of the instr ument, a f ra id to pick it up f rom its velvet setting. Aware that it held a certain significance, I wasn't yet old enough to real- ize its inherent value. The sign that hung from his neck, now a sacred piece of fa mily memorabilia , is tucked away somewhere in the depths of my grandmother 's house, decorated w ith the signatures of his brothers in battle. He died almost a half-centur y before I was born, but I feel as though I know him as an old friend from the past. I sometimes wonder what he would think of the legacy he left or how he would have reacted as others embellished the stories of his ba nd days. Wou ld he be a mused or emba r ra ssed by the glorification of his carefully preserved belongings? For me, the yearly visit to the past with t he r et el l i ng of s t or ie s a b out h i m a nd about his exempla r y commitment to his countr y warms my soul. Complementing my contentment will always be the honey- smoked ham, the chunk y cranberr y jelly (which, truthfully, only Mom likes), heaps of Idaho mashed potatoes and Grandma's secret-recipe stuffing. Li ke so ma ny relatives of ser v icemen a nd women then a nd now, I a m proud of and g ive thanks for Paul Shimer Jr., who rests in Lorra ine A merica n Cemeter y in Saint-Avold, France, plot A, row 15, grave 28. He was one in a million, just like all the others. jazmin frederick is a senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She was a summer intern at American Way. 5 6 N ov e m b e r 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY AZ - PHOENIX, CA - CARLSBAD . IRVINE . ANAHEIM . TORRANCE . ONTARIO . SANTA CLARA . SAN FRANCISCO . SACRAMENTO . SAN DIEGO, CO - DENVER FL - FT. LAUDERDALE . MIAMI, GA - ATLANTA, IL - BUFFALO GROVE . ADDISON, TX - AUSTIN . HOUSTON . SAN ANTONIO . DALLAS, WA - SEATTLE AMERICA'S PREMIER INDOOR KARTING CENTER 1 0 0 % E LE C T R I C ARRIVE & DRIVE ADULTS AND JUNIORS 48" AND UP GREAT FAMILY FUN! SPACIOUS LOBBIES | ©2014 MacNeil IP LLC For US Customers : WeatherTech.com For Canadian Customers : WeatherTech.ca For European Customers : WeatherTechEurope.com A u t o m o t i v e A c c e s s o r i e s WeatherTech.com · 800-441-6287 FloorLiners ™ , Cargo Liners and Side Window Defectors for virtually any Car, Truck, SUV and Minivan

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