| Subject: All veterans must be honored, regardless of what it takes! |
Author:
Annette
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Date Posted: 16:45:04 09/07/08 Sun
In reply to:
Annette
's message, "USS Mellette" on 03:58:24 09/07/08 Sun
I'd like to tell you all a little of my recent experience with my distant cousin Marvin, whom I only met on July 27, 2008:
My name is Annette and I am the 2nd cousin of Marvin Ravinsky, a WWII vet who passed away August 12th in Philadelphia.
Marvin was a distant cousin whom I'd never met...a hospital called me 2 weeks prior, having found my name in the phone directory as the only person with Marvin's last name.
He had been living in extreme poverty in a poor section of town...he was brought into the hospital suffering from extreme dehydration and was very emaciated. It turned out he had advanced cancer, and they gave him only one week to live. He was 85 years old.
I had to go there and authorize him to be placed in hospice care, as his only available relative that anyone could find.
When the hospice told me I would need to make burial arrangements, I went to his apt with the key from the social worker, because Marvin had said something about having been a vet (this was before he became incoherent, a few days before he died.)
Once there, I located his discharge papers....and also found all his medals!
He served on active duty in the Philippines, in the Ryuykus, in Japan....he won the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Stars and one Arrowhead; the Ww II Victory Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; the Army of Occupation Medal for Japan; the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two Bronze Stars; the American Campaign Medal and a medal for qualifying with machine gun and rifle.
Marvin had no family left except me and another cousin.....well, I found evidence of a son who would be 61 now, but try as I could, I was not able to locate him using online search engines.
After a hair-raising last minute search for his discharge papers, I found them in his apt, and he was buried on August 18th, 2008 in Philadelphia, with full military honors.
Those of us who are the children of the WW II generation must do all in our power to keep their memories alive, and to educate everyone as to what they did to make the world safe for democracy!
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