Dear Talia, Oliver, Ella, Lola, Luke, Caleb, and Asher:
Here's a picture of your great grandmother, Anne Krull Goss (1912-2009) with her siblings.
Anne is the pretty young blonde woman, second from the left. She's the oldest.
The picture was taken during the World War II years, '42 or '43. On great grandma's right is her brother Jack, whose tank was hit by cannon fire. He was the only survivor of his crew and spent many months recuperating in an army hospital. On her left is Hy, who was exempted from service, if I remember correctly, because his business was declared an essential industry. On Hy's left is your great-great aunt Frieda. Frieda's fiance (a soldier who was named Aubrey, but I don't know anything else about him) was killed in Europe. On Frieda's left is Mendy, the youngest, who was a bombardier on a B-24.
The war disrupted many lives, not only those who served but those who stayed at home.
I've been lucky — too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam. I hope you are similarly lucky. Better than that — I hope these endless wars in which we're engaged (in Afghanistan and Syria right now) come to an end.
Grandma Anne contributed 1/8 of your genetic inheritance. The people depicted here might seem to come from the remote past, but be aware that they're in you, part of you.
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