Part 1, " My Story "

I need to start off with some of my early childhood background. Born in the small town of St. Charles Missouri, just north of St. Louis on the Missouri river. The town in 1938 maybe had 4,000 people more or less. My Dad and Mom had no religious background at least none that I know of. Dad was one of eight children four boys and four girls who helped their parents farm the Missouri river bottom lands in the early nineteen hundreds. Dad was English and Irish, Mom was of German and French decent, my Moms family made it to America just before the turn of the century, where my Dads side of the family, was part of the first founding settlements of America in the sixteen hundreds.

My early childhood was good, we grew most of our own food on a few acres, Mom did all of canning so we could survive the cold Missouri winters.
My uncle had plenty of cattle and hog meat, they butchered and smoked in those days, dad raised chickens, and I had rabbits to eat.
Life was good as it gets at that time, because we were living in the Roosevelt years of depression, nobody I new had any money and we were all trying our best, to survive on what we had.

When I look back on those years, Dad and Mom had a hard road to go down, raising two boys and two girls. My Dad had to work in a factory forty hours a week for less then fifty cents a hour, to help keep us going during those hard times. My Mom also made all my sisters clothing, out of chicken feed sacks, that came in many different flowered colors, and keep my jeans patched when I tore holes in them.

Now we all would get a bath on Friday nights, in a big wash tub that was heated outside, and brought inside where in was warm, yes we all used the same water. Mom would use that wash tub for doing her laundry in also, she had a big scrub board that she would rub the laundry on, to the point where the skin on her fingers got so thin, they would bleed, she never complain about it, because it was another chore in daily living, that had to be done.

When it came time for me to start school, I was enrolled in a public school, not far from my house, so walking there was no problem. Anyway I had a cousin that attended the Catholic school, a couple miles from where I lived, she must of told a Catholic priest about me, because he payed my Mother a visited, on getting me in the Catholic school, convincing her that I needed some religious teaching, since we had none in the family.

So I started my second grade year, and graduated my eighth grade year, in the Catholic school system. We never once opened a bible, that was for the priest only. But we sure did a lot of reading, from our Catholic Catechism, all about the history of the church, and the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Every day we had Church Mass, for the first hour, on Friday, we had to fast from eating meat, before communion was served, to all the school kids.
The part I didn't like, was going to confession, every Thursday afternoon, and confess our sins to the priest, we would do penance, so God would forgive us our sins. That just didn't seem right to me, so I would do my best to skip out, on going to confession, I made up a lot of excuses in those days, so not to be with the school class, as they marched us, to and from the confessional.

After I graduated from grade school, I decide not to enroll in a Catholic high school, but decided going to our local high school, for the next four years. I never was a very good student, I just didn't apply myself, to working harder, in my studies to get better grades. I'm not implying my grades where failing, just enough to get me through high school, never thinking about college, just learning a trade, or working in a factory like my Dad.

After graduation I did just that, excepting a job in a steel factory, where we built subway cars, for many big cities across America, the same company my Dad was working. I continued working there until, being drafted to serve my country, I chose the Army because I wanted to get this over quick as possible.

Now not knowing what military life would be like, I was headed to Fort Leonard-Wood Missouri, for the next eight weeks of basic training, right in the middle of winter. When you enter the military, they put you through a day of testing, to see just how smart you are, and where you best fit in, for serving their purpose, for the next two years. So after basic training, your now ready for the next eight weeks of training, I was sent to Fort Sill Oklahoma artillery training base. My test scores must of been good enough, to get a Top Secret Clearance, to attend Special Weapons school, with other enlisted men and officers.

After that eight weeks of training, I was sent overseas to Germany, on a ship, the USS Buckner, that took us twelve days on the ocean, and finally reaching land, glad I didn't join the Navy. The good part in all of this, is being in Germany and having a chance to see Europe, back in the 50's, where America money was king, at that time it was cheap to travel around to different countries. You only get so much leave time that's it, I used up all I had coming to me while I was there, traveling to Spain, Switzerland, France, Denmark and Sweden.

When it was time to return home to the states, the Army offered me a large sum of money to stay, and reenlist for three more years, my answer was no, I had just spent 1 year and 11 months, I was ready to get home. I had a good reason to go home, because I had my girlfriend waiting for me, who became my future wife, as of right now that was 55 years ago. All my buddies that took the money, and reenlisted for three more years, went to Vietnam, they were the first ones there, before the war broke out.

My ride back home, yes just my luck some got a airplane ride, I got another ship ride the USS Randolf back to the states. Now this was a ride I will never forget, because we hit a hurricane out in middle of the ocean, and we spent two days riding it out, before it calm down. Everyone including the sailors got sick on this ride, water was coming 20 feet over the upper bridge, during this event, I was really excited to see the US shore line, and the statue of Liberty, setting out in the harbor, what a beautiful site that was to be home in America again.

To be continued:


Angels Watching Over Us, is also part of my Testimony after 41 years as a Believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior.

http://www.thetreeofliberty.com/vb/s...tching-Over-Us