Bringing A Father Home

Last evening at the Spirit of Christ Catholic Community monthly dinner of  YAH (Young At Heart) we had a speaker by the name of Patricia Gaffney-Kindig talk about looking for her father who went missing  during World War II. When I heard she would be speaking I wondered if the people would sit still and listen to what the lady had to say.

After announcements, a wonderful meal, birthday photos, Patricia Gaffney-Kindig got up to speak on Journey of the Heart.  The story began when her father went missing in New Guinea on a flying mission during the war. He disappeared three months before Patricia was born. As she grew, so did her desire to find her father's remains. Many searches done into the area where he had gone down finally revealed enough information to certify it was her father's plane. After forensic testing, a tooth and bone fragment confirmed that the remains of her father had been found.

She returned to the United States, with her father's remains, as his official escort.   On June 9, 1999 , she buried her father at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.  As she spoke, she had to pause to take deep breaths and to drink some water because even after many years, she still gets emotional thinking about her father whom she never knew.

The dinner was entitled, Honoring Our Military Heroes, and as I looked around at the people sitting in their red, white and blue outfits I could see that everyone was attentively listening. Everyone was fascinated by the speaker and the process she went through to find her father and return him home. She received a standing ovation when she finished her talk.

Some men wore their uniform or their caps depicting in what branch of the service they had served. At one point the men and women who had served in the military stood up and everyone sang God Bless America!

"We sleep safely at night

because rough men stand

ready to visit violence on

those who would harm us."

Winston Churchill