Patriotic songs my father taught me

This is my dad, Russell Schmidt, beloved and missed.

Over the holiday weekend, my family gathered for our tenth annual "Schmidty-palooza" reunion.  This event includes my mom, my six siblings and their spouses, and our children all gathering at my brother's house in Indiana.  My dad loved having us all together at our yearly summer reunion, and he is sadly missed by all of us.  This is the fourth reunion we've celebrated without him, although I believe he's with us in spirit.  Actually, I know he's with us in spirit simply by virtue of these things:  the influence he had upon us throughout our lives; the people we have become; and, the traditions we continue to celebrate together in his absence.  I thought of my dad's influence in a particular way this weekend, as our reunion always takes place on or near Independence Day.  My dad influenced us through the music he listened to, and an album I remember clearly is a collection of patriotic song and marches.  One of the songs on that album was "You're a Grand Old Flag."  Sitting poolside, my sister and I were reminiscing about our performance in a summer talent show at our local library.  We were probably in the nine to twelve year old range at the time.  We did a dance routine, involving the twirling of small American flags, to "You're a Grand Old Flag."  To this day, we both can sing that song by memory:

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag. 

After my sister and I sang through that one, with some curious looks from nearby kids, we started thinking of all the other patriot songs that we know because of our dad.  I remember very fondly the songs of the armed forces.  The army, navy, air force and marines each have their own song.  The U.S. Navy has "Anchors Aweigh."  The U.S. Army has "The Caisson Song."  The U.S. Air Force has "Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder."  The U.S. Marines have "The Marines' Hymn."  As a girl, I'm sure I had no idea what I was saying when I sang these lyrics:

 From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of UNITED STATES MARINES.

I certainly didn't know what a "caisson" referred to when I sang the army song.  (A "caisson" is a chest or vehicle used to store or transport ammunition.)   What I did know was that I was sharing in something with my dad.  He would play the album (or a cassette tape copy), and we'd sing along to those patriotic or military songs.  Some of my dad's siblings were in the Second World War.  He himself was drafted into the Korean War.  My dad's typing skills quite possibly saved him from combat duty.  When he got off the helicopter, someone in command asked, "Any of you dummies know how to type?"  Since my dad could indeed type, he was sent to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where he typed up lists of  names of dead soldiers, whose bodies were exchanged between the two sides.  My dad didn't glorify war or militarism, and he certainly wasn't always in agreement with U.S. foreign policy.  Yet he was definitely patriotic in a way that many of his generation are.  He was born in 1932 and grew up during the Great Depression and the Second World War.  The truth is - my dad liked many different kinds of music, and he liked to sing.  I like these patriotic tunes, because my dad liked them.  Remembering these songs makes me feel connected to him.   

When I thought about writing this, I wasn't sure what it's really about.  Is it about patriotism?  I do love my country, but I'm definitely not a blind patriot.  No, this post is not about patriotism or politics.  Is it about music?  Certainly music connects people, and that's part of what I'm getting at.  Is it about childhood memories?  Those happy or funny or odd experiences and stories that connect us to our family, the people we grew up with.  Sure, that's part of it too.  But I think what it all comes down to is...

Love.  The love of a father, and the love for a father, who played records and sang.  We miss you, Dad!

*****

Postscript:  If my own children have similar memories and/or songs that connect them to me and make them think of me lovingly - both while I am still here and when I am gone - then I will be pleased and glad.