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About The Family
Harvey R Alexander
Born, June 22, 1921
Place- Alton Illinois
(In his own words)Date: June 10th 2010
(Harv with brother Frank and sister Verneda, Circa 1940's)
Harv: “True…My Dear wife Audrey, at this time we weren’t married, but she also worked at the plant until she too joined the Navy…”
“Wow! (Laughing) It seems like for a Mid Western family, you sure do have a great tradition for joining a sea faring discipline!”
Harv: (Smiling) “Don’t you know that the Navy is the best place for eating?”
“Oh yes, I have heard that.” (Smiles)
Harv: “And now that I think of it, my Father in law NEVER* joined the Navy, but worked for the Wabash railroad, spending to many hours keeping the troop trains and the ammunition trains rolling.
*(Author's Note: Harv's Father-In-Law, Mr. Schneider actually served in the U.S. Navy in World War One, on our first battleship, the U.S.S. Texas! (Click Here) For an Image of the actual Roster.
(U.S.S. Texas Circa 1898, Click on the picture above for the ships roster)
“That must have been quite a feet of human ingenuity.”
Harv: “It wasn’t easy I can tell you that. My Dear Mother in law worked countless hours at the red cross and salvation army doing anything she could do to help, rolling bandages, collecting cigarettes, and all that stuff that was sent overseas to service men in all branches of service.”
“Ok. You can probably understand now why it is that on this July 4th holiday I chose to get some information on the people in your life, that actually sacrificed so much, so that everyone of the generations after could enjoy the freedom and spare time that we do.”
Harv: “Yeah, now that you mention it that way, but remember something…during this time people understood what it meant to be in a situation where your freedom could be taken away by a tyrant.”
“You mean like Hitler?”
Harv: “Yes, like someone who could easily WIN a war and not just fight it for some terrorist gain. Back then people had to seriously worry, and that makes for a great reason to struggle…I mean, not to take anything away from them, but today’s kids really don’t seem to have a whole lot to worry about like then…they do, but they don’t know it.”
“One thing I would like to bring out here in this interview is the closeness you supposedly had with your mother-in-law.”
Harv: “Well, you hit that one right on the head! She was without a doubt my best girl friend…we fell in love with each other the first time we met and I have her to thank for my wife of 50 plus years.”
“You told me once that she never raised her voice in anger or ever had a bad thing to say about anyone.”
Harv: “Ohhhh you can say that again. She was one of the kindest most gentle spirits to have ever walked this earth and I miss her sorely.”
“It must have been very difficult for you to have had to finally say goodbye to such strong willed and loving people.”
Harv: “It was, but Mother Schneider was someone to never forget!”
“Lastly Harv, I know that you are itchin’ to get out in your garden and do some more weeding, so I will stop by asking you if there is anything else you would like to add to this little chat today?”
Harv: “There is something…as you may remember, I was the last of seven (the baby), but some of my older brothers and sisters died before the war began. If they had been living you can bet they would have been doing something to help the war effort.
Harv: “I am so very proud of my family…they were all true blue Americans and would fight at the drop of a hat for their country. I sure do pray that the people of today find within themselves the same kind of Patriotism we had back in that time.
Harv: “Happy July 4th to everyone out there.”
“Thank you Harv. This was something special to add.”
End
Harv with wife about a year before she passed on. God Bless Her.
© 2016 Tiger1 Productions, Ltd.
