All my life growing up something was missing. It wasn't until I heard the song, "Daddy's Little Girl" that I realized what the sadness I always felt really was.

When I found AWON, I knew I was not alone, and that a lot of my feelings were shared by many. Growing up, I guess I didn't know how to communicate what my sadness was. After World War II, life went on for the widows and the parents and brothers and sisters. In many cases, family members had their memories of their loved one to fall back on, hopefully to help with their loss.

When I heard the word Orphan, to me that word did mean sadness. I have very little memory of the 3 years I had a dad. I remember uniforms, parades, traveling on trains and being with my grandparents so that mother could move ahead to get settled at the Army base where my dad went to OCS.

I am fortunate to have such wonderful pictures of him in his uniform, his Purple Heart, the American Flag, and I've recently received a beautiful picture of his grave site at the Epinal Cemetary in France. I also found the location and the cause of death. After reading Lost in the Victory, I realized that no two stories are alike, even though it was one war.

To all I met in France during my visit on Memorial Day, 2016: thank you from the bottom of my heart for your compassion and respect shown to me.