Dads et al

From left:

Harland J Harris, my father
David Stonewall Orrell, my great-grandfather
Amelia Lindig Orrell, my great-grandmother
Sylvia Hall Harris my mother
unknown man, probably grandfather's brother
William Anson MacDonald, my grandfather

pic is probably taken by Evelyn Orrell Hall MacDonald, my grandmother.

Taken about 1941-42 in eastern N.C., maybe Wilmington, Carolina Beach, or St. Pauls, or somewhere in between. Note Harland's rank as sergeant -- he wound up the war as a Master Sergeant, 82nd Airborne, having come through North Africa, Anzio, and D-Day as a glider pilot. He received both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. I met him when I was two (Mom was pregnant when he went overseas), and he died when I was three (1946) of bulbar polio. My brother was born about a month after his death.

Papa Orrell didn't serve because his birthdate was just after the Civil War and he was too old for WW I. Born in Deltaville VA circa 1870; died in Carolina Beach in the 1960s (I think). Locomotive engineer.

Bill MacDonald served in WW I but I have no info on where. Born in Rex NC circa 1890; died in the VA Hospital in Fayetteville NC in the 1960s. Master mechanic.

And here's my brother, father of three. His S.O. is big in the dahlia world in SF CA, hence the flowers. Born in Madison WI 1946. Electronics quality assurance.

So these are the men of influence in my life that I'm thinking about today.