A Legacy of Service

As a child, I was fortunate to know all 4 of my grandparents. I can tell great stories about each of them and loved them dearly, but my favorite story is about Grambo. My maternal grandma, Florence, was a cuddly grandma who wore big, soft sweaters and loved to give long hugs. She would knit slippers and blankets for us and was the personification of the word "comfort". Grambo taught me how to make sourdough pancakes, which I highly recommend, and was my partner for the countless games of Aggravation against my brother and grandpa.

I knew my grandma and grandpa had met during World War II because when I would go to their house and needed a bottle of Mug root beer, I used a unique bottle opener that they kept in the utensil drawer. It was a hollowed out 50 caliber bullet that my grandma kept as a souvenir from her time in the Navy that is the reason why she met my grandpa. Grandma was one of the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) who spent her time in Pensacola, Fla.

My grandma was a pretty good shooter, and her skills were used as a gunnery instructor. She had the best record for pistol marksmanship out of anyone who had served at that base, which was lowered by her commanding office because he could not allow a woman to hold the record. My grandma also trained incoming Naval recruits on firing the 50 caliber machine guns they would use as tail-gunners in our Pacific Fleet’s dive bombers. Many men who reported to the range questioned the idea of receiving gunnery instruction from a young, beautiful WAVE wearing a flight suit and heels. Soon, they each recognized her talents and could deconstruct and reassemble the gun. They could load the gun and fire it with sniper level accuracy.

A recruit named Dan was fresh out of Montana and took a liking to the young gunnery instructor. It was not long before my grandma found that she too enjoyed his company. From the time they met, went on their first date and were married, a mere 3 months had passed. I am proud to say that the year I married my own wife was the year they celebrated 50 years of marriage. Both have passed away now, and I love thinking back on the countless wonderful memories I have of them both.

There is a picture that was in one of my grandma's old photo albums of her and a fellow WAVE gunnery instructor. In the photo, both women walk along a path behind the turreted gunnery simulators on the range at the base. They both wear the flight suits that were standard issue, and donned caps that were part of the WAVE attire. With 2-inch heeled shoes, they each wear a belt around their necks of 50 caliber machine gun rounds. I think back to the first time I ever saw a movie poster for Rambo II with Sly Stallone and the machine gun belt that fed into the gun he carried. My grandma had that look down decades earlier! It is only fitting that I call her "Grambo". I keep this picture in my own album now.

Arlington National Cemetery created a tribute to the women who served in World War II, and from donations of those who served and their families, they created an exhibit of memorabilia and artifacts.  One donation was made by the family of the woman my Grandma walked with in the picture – it was a copy of the famous photo of the 2 WAVE instructors. One of the greatest moments in my life was when I took my mom and my daughter to Arlington to see it on display. I took a picture of the two of them with my Grandma’s picture in the background to see perhaps the greatest multigenerational picture ever.

David Aberle

is a California native who has spent the last 20 years of his life with his family in Oregon. He is the proud father of 3 amazing, grown children whom he visits and devotes time to frequently, along with the rest of his family across the United States. David values his family above all else and feels immense gratitude for the lessons of his parents and grandparents.