“Today is the day that Daddy will be back with us.” my mother announced.
“Oh, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Will he wear his white straw hat with the black ribbon like when he worked in the bank in Chicago?” I asked.
“No, I think he will be in uniform and with a different kind of hat.” my mother responded.
“What is uniform, Mother?”
“Well, your father is in the Army. All the men wear the same type of clothes. The shirts and pants are light brown. The hats are like small boats. If you think of a very small boat that you hold in your hands, raise it up over your head and turn it over. It fits right over your head. Your father is in the Infantry.” Mother explained.
“I thought that Infants were babies. How can Daddy be a baby? I questioned.
“Your father is not a baby. The military has several different branches: the Army, the Air Force and the Navy. The Army has people who fight on the ground. They are in the Infantry. People who fight in the air are called “airmen” and are in the Air Force. People who fight on ships on the sea are called seamen. They are in the Navy.” Mother explained.
“Why are they fighting? I don’t understand.”
“That is very complicated. I think what we need to do now is get ready for Daddy’s arrival.”
My father arrived home wearing the clothes Mother told us about but he was the same Daddy as before. He looked so happy. He hugged my mother. I think she was crying. Then he picked up Tommy and swung him into the air. He picked me up too.
“Daddy, I love it here. How long can you stay? Can you stay forever and live here with us? I am mad at the camp for the boots for making you stay away.”
“I can stay for about ten days. Then I will return to boot camp. I will write you letters.”
“But Daddy, I can’t read.”
“I am sure that Mother will read them to you.”
“Yes. I will also tell her what to write to you.”
“Now let’s have some fun. Now, where is that wheel barrow?” Daddy stated.
It was so exciting to ride in the wheel barrow. My father loaded my brother and me into it. The he started running. It was so fun. We were laughing so hard that we almost fell out. It was even more fun that the train because Daddy was with us.
