My family was originally Danish however they fled Denmark when WWII broke out of fear of the Nazis invading Denmark. They took a long boat ride over to America, where they were assigned the last name Hagen by the border control. From here they moved to Illinois where my grandparents and parents were born. This was before my mother joined the navy and was deployed around the world eventually retiring and moving to California. This is where she passed on the sword to me and the one I still have today. This means a lot to me as it reminds me of my mother, and it is a very good memory. 
 The sword is silver with a gold hilt inlaid with seashells. The blade is etched with symbols from the battle of Midway, a major American naval victory back in WWII. It has a tassel hanging from the bottom which is supposed to be wrapped around the hilt when in ceremony. The blade is flattened so that it can’t cut someone and is only somewhat sharp around the tip. It is used in ceremonies when appointing new officers into the US navy and it was used by my mother twice.

– JH

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant