Not long after December 7, 1941, when I was 10 years-old, I had six uncles and two cousins serving overseas in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Seabees.

One of the cousins, Jodalee Parsons, the eldest son of my mother’s eldest sister, stands out in my mind among the family veterans.

Jodalee was only 17 when he managed to join the army in 1942. A slight, blonde-haired, green-eyed youth, he had dreams of becoming one of the top country-western singers. He even had a 30-minute spot each Saturday morning on the local radio station.

Jodalee had taught himself to play the guitar at an early age. He was good, and he knew it. Normally a shy, soft-spoken boy, he was transformed into an entertainer when he had a guitar in his hands.

His singing voice was much like that of Ernest Tubb, whose Walking the Floor Over You was the most-played juke box song for a long time. It was one of Jodalee’s favorites.

On his radio program, Jodalee talked about the new songs of country-western singers, then he sang and played his renditions of them.

I remember the last radio program Jodalee did before he left for the army. He called it his “rose show”. He sang One Dozen Roses, San Antonio Rose, the Yellow Rose of Texas, and Red Roses for a Blue Lady. He ended with a song he had written called Roses in Her Hands, Cheatin’ in Her Heart.

Jodalee, a paratrooper, died in a cold, muddy trench from a savage German attack during the bitterly fought Battle of the Bulge, just a few weeks before his 20th birthday. In the last letter his mother received, he said what he wanted more than anything in the world was some clean, dry underwear.

Another young soldier accompanied the coffin containing Jodalee’s remains to our home-town for a military funeral/burial. The grief on the gray, snowy day of the burial was unforgettable.

The young soldier stayed a couple more days to comfort the immediate family. He and Jodalee’s 18 year-old sister, Dorothy Jean, fell in love, and corresponded for a long time.

I exchanged letters regularly with all my uncles during WWII. Uncle Maurice, who called me his fishing buddy, wrote the following words to me.

“I hope to be back to take you fishing with me soon, but if I don’t make it, think about our good times, and remember that we are fighting this war so little boys like you will never have to fight in another war like this.”

So many dreams have died from wars since that letter was written. Countless young men and women have paid for our freedom with their lives or injuries.

God in Heaven, bless our veterans and their families, one and all. May we never forget them.

[Notes regarding above narration:

1. Jodalee may have been a family pet name for Jodie Lee

2.  Jodie enlisted in 1943, not 1942

3.  The lyrics to Jodie's intriguing song entitled Roses in Her Hands, Cheatin’ in Her Heart have not been located as yet.

Jodie's death was in Holland, during Battle of the Bulge (Belgium)