My grandpa, Prewitt H, was a squad officer in the in the United States Marine Corps, during World War ll. He thought it was right to fight, because he was fighting for his country. I thought this was a very brave thing to do, fight for others freedom.


In 1942 he was shipped to, and stationed in Okinawa, Japan. After fighting there for three years, in June, 1945, the day that all troops wish for, came to him. Although it came, it came in a way that was the least expected, and least wanted.


While fighting, there was a bomb dropped from a plane maned by the Japanese. This bomb exploded next to my grandpa, and a piece of it, flew off, and hit him in the legs. He was severely injured, so he was taken to the medical tent. There, he received bandaging, and some crutches. He was taken out of the Marine Corps, and shipped back to his home in Kentucky. I think that this bomb, may have saved his life.


If he had not been struck by the bombshell, he wouldn’t have been taken out. Therefor, he may have been more severally injured or maybe even killed. I wonder now, that if he had not been hit, maybe he would have lived through the rest of the war, and had two fine legs.


However, since he was in the United States army, he received their free healthcare. The fact that about ten million other veterinarians were receiving this free healthcare, tells you that it may not be the best, as proved in the year 2000.


He had been writing letters back and forth with a woman named Katharine H. I guess you could say they were boyfriend and girlfriend, because three years after he was taken from the war, he married this lovely young woman. Three years after his marriage, Katharine gave birth to their first child, my dad.


In around 1992, my grandpa’s left leg got infected, and his doctor advised him to get it amputated. So, he did. I was born in 1995 and we went to visit him every Christmas. It was always fun. We would always drive over without telling him, and he would just wake up with us there.


My grandpa loved collecting cars, motorcycles, and lawnmowers. I do not know why, but this strongly grasped his interest. After he was retired, he would buy a car, motorcycle, or lawnmower, and he would fix it up and make it better, then sell them for a profit. He had this one vintage Chevy Truck, that won first place every year in a car show. I guess you could say this was his hobby. No matter what he did, he and my grandma would always spend time with me, and make me laugh with his imitations of Bugs Bunny, or Daphy Duck.


The year 2000, however, was not a very great year for our family. My grandma passed away from breast cancer. This highly affected my grandpa emotionally. Whenever I was there, I could hear him crying to himself at night saying, “Why? Why did you have to take her from me?” It was very hard for him, not to mention, he was starting to make me shed a tear with his words. To top that year off, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, that had spread throughout his body. At the time, his medical insurance was still from the Veterinarians Association.



It was a cold, winter night, in the year 2002, when I saw my dad cry for the first time. My mom and dad called a Family Meeting, which is when they told us that our grandfather had passed away, the night before. Losing the only granddad I had ever had was one of the saddest moments I have experienced as a young boy. It was like loosing one of your best friends, and one of your relatives, at the same time. We were close. I feel that we could have been closer, but I am happy with the way we were. I still ask myself the question, “If grandpa had better medical insurance, do you think the doctors could have spotted the cancer sooner, maybe saving his life?”

No matter what the answer is I know that I will always miss him and my grandma, and the thought of his bravery, toughness, loving, fun, and caring person, will stay in my heart, and in my thought forever.