Dad's Uniform

Dad's uniform. 

Two years ago I hung up my father's Army uniform in my downstairs closet knowing that the next time he wore it would be at his funeral. Except, as life has way of doing, little did I realize that in the next two years he would have the occasion to wear it not once, but twice. 

On that first Veteran's Day Dad was honored as the highest ranking, oldest veteran at his Assisted Living facility. A ceremony including an honor guard concluded with the presentation of the flag to Dad. He beamed as he proudly accepted the honor bestowed upon him that day. 

Dad's uniform was extremely impressive with the many medals he had earned over his twenty year career. As children we had only seen him wearing ribbons, so we were equally impressed by the medals. 

The following year Dad had a second opportunity to wear his uniform at a This Is Your Life celebration planned by his activity director. As a family we are eternally grateful for the opportunity to honor Dad while he was still living. Once again Dad proudly wore his uniform, the honor guard attended, and I was able to read a biography of Dad's life. 

A few months later the uniform was taken down for the third time. It had been Dad's wish to be buried in his uniform. As we gathered together to say that final goodbye we took comfort in knowing that we had been able to honor Dad twice before, and remembered how handsome he looked while wearing his uniform.