5.31.2010

Bill Cato - WWII Hero


My Grandfather is a World War II Veteran. When I was a kid, he never really talked about war stories all that much. It wasn’t until the past 10 years or so that he began to share about that time in his life. Especially the past few years, he has told stories that seemed like they happened yesterday, his memory is so vivid…his plane being gunned down, the ride to the POW camp, his time at the camp, etc, etc. My favorite part of the story is the end…the camp was liberated, they raided the office, then they all made the long trek back to the US. Once back on US soil, he didn’t have a way to reach his family, so really he just showed up on the front porch one day. They all thought he had died, and there he was! I wish I could have seen the look on my grandmother’s face.

He’s a hero to me for so many reasons. Too many reasons to count. The war stories are amazing, but the life he led after the war is what I’m most thankful for. He is a faithful man, leader of our family, grill master and ice-cream maker, fun-loving yet serious grandfather, sweet, creative, hard-working, genuine, loving, honest, opinionated, prayerful, funny, traditional, loveable… I love him more than words could ever say, and I celebrate him and his life today on Memorial Day.

Pop has been in the hospital for about a month. The diagnosis is still uncertain…cancer…liver/pancreas/gallbladder. They have more biopsies to do, more tests to run, but ultimately our family is coming to grips with the fact that he is going Home soon. Our family appreciates your prayers, of course for his healing, but even more for comfort, and for God to get the glory, and for these days to be sweet and filled with love and laughter, no matter how many days are left. I’m still in Orlando while my family is in Little Rock. Hopefully I’ll be able to be there soon to spend time with Pop.

I love this picture of Liam and Pop. This was last summer when we were in town visiting for a friend’s wedding. I love how we just showed up, and Pop already had the ice cream freezer ready to go. We gathered the supplies and headed out to the garage. Liam watched as Pop sat on his paint can and turned the crank. A few minutes later we were all enjoying the world’s best strawberry ice cream, Liam’s first taste of sugar. I decided to relax a little on my “no-sugar-til-one-year” rule, it was definitely worth it.

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