Monday, April 7, 2014

Your legacy

Granny Sue at the christening
of the USS Kinzer Nov 1944.

On November 1, 1944, the USS Kinzer was christened by my great-grandmother, "Granny Sue".  This destroyer escort vessel was named in honor of my great-uncle - Ensign Edward Blaine Kinzer, US Navy. Uncle Blaine was killed during the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942 and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Uncle Blaine's bravery and sacrifice are a matter of great pride for our family and his memory lived on through this ship's service to the US Navy.

These old pictures have gotten me thinking.  Most of us will never have this kind of legacy - it is not the kind of legacy we would seek or wish for. But our legacies don't need to be this dramatic. We can leave our mark in many other ways - through our friends and families, the work that we do and the acts that we perform for the benefit of others.
Ensign Kinzer

Most of us don't think about our legacies. If we do, we are uncomfortable with the idea because it feels arrogant and presumptuous.  The beauty of dreaming about our legacy is that we don't have to tell anyone else about it!  Instead, we can just start living in a way that moves us closer to our vision.  I'm not going to tell you the vision that I have for my legacy but if do it right - who knows you might be able to figure it out!


4 comments:

  1. How bittersweet for your Granny Sue; I hope she found comfort in knowing how her son's legacy lived on.

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    Replies
    1. I think she did - she was an amazing person!

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  2. Good article only problem- death date is wrong. Should 1942. Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed until Dec. 8 1941. Just saying.
    Uncle Bill

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  3. OOPS - good catch! I made the change - thank you, uncle Bill!

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