My Great Grandfather
This is a picture of a portrait of my great grandfather- Herman Daniel Greenstein. He served in the Army Signal Corps in WWI and survived being mustard gassed 5 times- though in the end it shortened his life. I have in my posession a copy of his WWI diary. It's filled with brief descriptions of the weather, days events, air raids, marches, and some poetry. I am proud that the poetry that was in his blood runs through my veins. With generations of military service dating back to pre-revolutionary war, it's a small wonder I'm going in!
Here's a couple of my favorites!
Now That It's All Over
1918
Did you ever hike millions of miles
And Carry a ton on your back
And blister you heels and your shoulders too
Where the straps ran down from your pack
In the rain or the snow or the muck perhaps
In the smothering heat or the cold?
If you have then why you're a buddy of ours
And we welcome you into our fold
When the bloody war is over
1918
When the bloody war is over
And the bloody battles won
When I put my civies on again
Oh how happy I will be
When I take my final furlough
And I get my life long pass
I will tell the first class Sergeant
To shove his details up his a--.
When the bloody war is over
And the bloody battles won
When I put my civies on again
Oh how happy I will be
When I take my final furlough
And I get my life long pass
I will tell the bloody Germans
To shove his shrapnel up his a--
My Grandfather
To my regret I never met him, but I have heard some amazing things. He was there at Pearl Harbor during the attack that brought us into WWII. He recieved the Navy Cross for jumping in and saving the lives of many people. His name was Irving Emanuel Greenstein. It was from him that I received my middle name: Emanuel. I am honored. This photo was taken when he joined the Navy as a pharmacist's assistant...if you compare it to my high-school senior class photo you would swear we were the same person.
This is my mom and little brother at the airport to see me off back to college after Christmas 2000 break... I figured I'd get a shot of them to put up here too. :)
