Every year on Memorial Day, I share this illustration I created years ago. I first saw a picture of an untitled, unnamed veteran pop up in my feed, and the striking image of this aging man holding the flag really moved me. After I created it I chose not sell it, because I don't want the image to lose it's impact. If you would like a copy please comment and I may have a limited run.
I felt a connection with him. As I looked at his face, I wondered about the hell and heavens he had experienced, not only during the war but in those quiet moments when the only thing he had were his memories. In this illustration, I tried to capture those thoughts of wars fought and friends lost.
I never served in the military, so I don't fully understand the trauma one goes through. Outside of Scouting, the little time I spent in the Civil Air Patrol, and being married to a military woman for a few years, I have never experienced the trauma of war and military life other than as a civilian.
What I do know is that the military and war change you, almost down to every fiber of your being. I watched my ex-wife struggle with being home. The way her personality changed as she pushed me away, and told me I would never understand. It amazes me to reflect on those days. Those innocent days when we watched the Twin Towers collapse and the US go to war on the screens in our high school classrooms. The fear we felt of being drafted, the rage, the worry, war. We changed; we all did in that moment and we didn't even know it.
The Story of Doughboy Joe
After a few years, the image resurfaced, and I finally had a name: Joseph Francis Ambrose.
Who was Joseph Ambrose? Mr. Ambrose was born on May 24, 1896, in Joliet, Illinois, not far from where I grew up.
Mr. Ambrose's father and mother were Roman Catholic Austrians, not uncommon for that area. He was drafted in 1917 and served in the United States Army until 1919. Before being drafted, he was a laborer at the Phoenix Horse Shoe Company. Mr. Ambrose served with Company I, 140th Infantry, 35th Division, A. E. F., from 1917 to 1919. He and his company fought in St. Mihiel (September 12-15, 1918), Meuse-Argonne (September 26-November 11, 1918), and was in the Defensive Sector, commonly known as the Western Front. He was awarded the World War I Victory Medal.
After the war, Mr. Ambrose returned home and lived for a time with his father and sister, working as a heater technician for a gas company. In the mid-1920s, he married a woman named Maria. Together, they had four children. According to his WWII draft document in 1942, he worked in the tile business for E. I. Du Pont Construction.
I assumed he didn't serve in WWII due to age. Unfortunately, Mr. Ambrose's tale of war survivor filled with tragedy didn't end. On February 14, 1951, Mr. Ambrose's third son, Sergeant Clement A. Ambrose, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, was killed in action while serving in the Korean War at the age of 22.
So what about the picture? The picture that inspired me was from a dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. He was 86 at the time. The picture was taken by the United States Defense Audiovisual Agency. He is featured in his WWI uniform, equipped with his field equipment, and carrying the American Flag that draped Sergeant Ambrose's casket when he returned home to be laid to rest.
Mr. Ambrose joined his wife in eternal peace on May 1, 1988, at age 91. U.S. Senator from Illinois Dick Durbin gave this dedication speech about Mr. Ambrose in 2012: "Joseph Ambrose wore his old Army 'doughboy' uniform and carried his son's flag often to Veterans Day parades and VFW conventions. He confessed that some years he had to go on a crash diet to squeeze back into it. But he did it to honor the veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars, wars he believed America was trying then to forget. He wanted to remind us of an important truth: that no matter the outcome of a war, those who answer the call of duty and risk everything to defend America deserve the respect of a grateful nation."
Thank you for your service to all military members of all branches, spouses, and children. Lift your glasses in honor of all who live and have passed. May one day war be a distant memory.
Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_F._Ambrose
