My grandfather, the son of a Norwegian immigrant mother and grandson of a civil war veteran, served in World War I.  During my childhood visits to a small town in northern Wisconsin, his uniform always hung in a downstairs closet, alongside his Springfield rifle and a helmet with a green cross on the front.  His private’s tunic, with the “WIS” pin for Wisconsin on the collar, hangs in my closet to this day.  As a boy, I imagined that the uniform had seen the trenches in France.  Much later, I learned that my grandfather’s service had started and ended at the New York State Teachers’ College in Albany, New York – a large infantry training center.  Before the Spanish Influenza pandemic struck Albany in September, 1918, the roster of his company numbered 180 men.  By October 31st, there were 51 left on active duty.  His helmet has a green cross because as one of the few men who remained healthy, he served as a medic for his sick comrades.  So few of them were left that the regiment was disbanded and sent home shortly after the Armistice in November.  Thereafter, one of my grandfather’s deepest values, passed on to his family, was that you stand by your friends and family when they are sick.  The experiences that shape our lives are not always what you might expect. 

– Nicholas Norman

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