I was just told by a facebook friend today:
"Your dad's shoulder patch is the 2nd Infantry Division. This unit fought the entire war from North Africa in Nov. of 1942, to Sicily in July of '43, to Italy in Sept. of '43. They were withdrawn from Italy for the Normandy invasion, did that, and fought all the way to D-Day.
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| My Father, Felipe Montoya Fajardo On the bottom row, center |
I just remember him talking about being in the 2nd Infantry Division, the Invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day in 1944. He also spoke about fighting until the end of the war, The Battle of the Bulge in 1945.
My dad Felipe Montoya Fajardo and his first cousin Jose Pilar Fajardo fought in The Battle of the Bulge, WWII, Normandy, France. They had WAY more than that in common. Their mother's were sisters.
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Felipe Montoya Fajardo
WWII 1945
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| Felipe Montoya Fajardo WWII 1945 |
My dad Felipe Montoya Fajardo and his first cousin Jose Pilar Fajardo fought in The Battle of the Bulge, WWII, Normandy, France. They had WAY more than that in common. Their mother's were sisters.
Lucinda Labadie and younger sister Josefita Labadie married brothers.
Lucinda was married to Victoriano Fajardo.
Josefita married Doroteo Chavez Fajardo.
My father's mother Josefita, died when he was only 3 years old, due to the 1918 Spanish Influenza so my dad, Felipe and his cousin, Jose grew up sort of as brothers.
They also married sisters.
My dad married my mother Agueda and Jose married her younger sister Carolina.
Complicated I know but I promise, when you sort it all out, there is no incest going on there.
Before they left for the war, my Uncle Jose married my mother's little sister, Carolina. As my mother told the story, when they returned from the war, Connie and Jose had a son, Benny. According to my mother, my dad was a "player." Here story used to change from she didn't like him or trust him to the very romantic story of him having a Model T car that he used to charge the girls a quarter for rides to and from the dances in Puerto de Luna from Santa Rosa. It was a 12 mile drive. My mother finally admitted that she wanted to deter his taxi service to the other young women so she would give him a dollar right up front at the beginning of the evening to "buy" his taxi services for the evening. Smart girl. Very shortly after they had returned from the war, my dad's step-mother became ill. His parents were living in Amarillo where his father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. He needed to go to Texas to see her, yet he didn't want to leave my mom behind because all the young men who had just returned from the war were looking to get married and settle down. He asked her to go with him to Amarillo and she declined because they weren't married and that wouldn't be proper so he asked her to marry him. They got married in the and he took her to Amarillo with him. The rest is history. I had always wondered why there were no wedding photos and I wondered why they never spoke much of their wedding. She told me this story shortly before she passed away.
Just this past year I discovered that my father's parents, Doroteo Fajardo and Josefita Labadie were married at the Nuestra Senora del Refugo Church, Puerto de Luna, NM on May 12, 1915 and my father was born on May 26, 1915. That was a very well kept secret until after both of my parents passed away.
Before they left for the war, my Uncle Jose married my mother's little sister, Carolina. As my mother told the story, when they returned from the war, Connie and Jose had a son, Benny. According to my mother, my dad was a "player." Here story used to change from she didn't like him or trust him to the very romantic story of him having a Model T car that he used to charge the girls a quarter for rides to and from the dances in Puerto de Luna from Santa Rosa. It was a 12 mile drive. My mother finally admitted that she wanted to deter his taxi service to the other young women so she would give him a dollar right up front at the beginning of the evening to "buy" his taxi services for the evening. Smart girl. Very shortly after they had returned from the war, my dad's step-mother became ill. His parents were living in Amarillo where his father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. He needed to go to Texas to see her, yet he didn't want to leave my mom behind because all the young men who had just returned from the war were looking to get married and settle down. He asked her to go with him to Amarillo and she declined because they weren't married and that wouldn't be proper so he asked her to marry him. They got married in the and he took her to Amarillo with him. The rest is history. I had always wondered why there were no wedding photos and I wondered why they never spoke much of their wedding. She told me this story shortly before she passed away.
Just this past year I discovered that my father's parents, Doroteo Fajardo and Josefita Labadie were married at the Nuestra Senora del Refugo Church, Puerto de Luna, NM on May 12, 1915 and my father was born on May 26, 1915. That was a very well kept secret until after both of my parents passed away.
I can't sing praises enough for ancestry.com. After studying my genealogy for a little while, I have noticed that important dates tend to repeat within the family. My brother and my grandpa Doroteo were born on the same day and my grandparents were married on my birthday. Over and above that, I have either reconnected with long lost cousins or I have meet ones that I never knew I had. It is a wonderful thing to feel so connected.
Christina~From the time I found your blog while searching for "Just Fly" I have enjoyed your posts. I also enjoyed the added perk of getting involved with Brave Girls Club. This post is awesome. I also am a great fan of ancestry and find it so interesting to learn new things about my heritage. I have many Family (Close To My Heart) posts.
ReplyDeleteI just saw this reply, thanks, I am glad you enjoyed my post! I love researching my ancestry and had learned so much about myself reading about my ancestors journey. It is vey healing.
DeleteHey, this is so nice post. I loved reading it. My grandfather is also turning 90 in this month. I want to throw a grand party for him. So I am going to book a historical party venue NYC for the celebration where he tied the knot with my grandmother.
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