This Memorial Day



My father, Pvt. Marvin A. Koblentz served in the United States Army for ten months, 22 days, during WWII, before a heart defect (failure of the aortic valve to form completely in utero ) resulted in a Honorable discharge.  He graduated from Law School then was hired by the Justice Department to resettle those held at Tule Lake Internment Camp.  He was so shocked by the conditions, humbled by the people held by their government, that once the camp was decommissioned that he resigned from the Justice Department, and went into practice as a general practice attorney.  He never turned a client away, because he wanted to make sure that every American had their fair day in court with the best possible representation.  He had a family, he provided, he suffered more than most with person tragedy.  He endured, but died in 1995.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time, neglect, etc. take a toll on Likens Cemetery

Image
Likens Cemetery, Marion Township, Marion County, Ohio, April 1942 The picture above is of Likens Cemetery, also known as Likens Chapel Cemetery, sometimes known as "Lykens Chapel Cemetery" in Marion Township, Marion County, Ohio.  It is located about 500 feet south of Likens Road, and about 1,500 feet west of the intersection of where Pole Lane intersects Likens Road.   I have family there. Originally a cemetery for the Zuck Family, it grew and was added onto over the years and at one time served the families of Likens Chapel, one of four Methodist Episcopal chapels on a circuit ridden by Rev. Jeremiah Crabb Monnett.  Around WWI, the frame structure was replaced with a brick building still at the corner of Pole Lane and Likens Road. By March 1, 1942 there were more than 300 burials at Likens, all with some type of marker.  In 1976, there were only 130 markers. What happened? In March, 1942, the United States Government arrived in Marion County and evicted all lan
Read more

Find A Grave has a difficult birthing process and I point some fingers

I don't need to tell anyone what Find A Grave is, or that it has a very difficult hurdle to overcome with the redesign and re-launch of its new site.  In fact, there are so many fingers pointing at people that it is difficult to know who is pointing at whom.  In the Find A Grave forums on Facebook (the Find A Grave Forums on the site are an entirely different type of matter deserving its own time), tempers are flaring and the drama of people jumping out of the basement windows over the matter is getting too much for even someone like me who has a high bullshit tolerance.  The launch of the redesigned web site was announced at last year's RootsTech , although it was long rumored as an outcome of the site's purchase by Ancestry.  Gone is the familiar Find-A-Grave-lavender pages and hello to a very white and bright world.  Having worked for a tech company, I have been through conversions, and therefore I know what I am about to speak of, although it is not to be tak
Read more

Ancestry and it's new "Genetic Communities" feature

Image
Earlier this week, AncestryDNA launched the newest feature to its DNA web portal, " Genetic Communities ". Ancestry deserves praise for this new feature.  While they could be happy selling kits and posting have to evolve and give customers a reason to continue to buy your products and trust your decisions to grow your platforms. Without evolution in product and services, you become a moribund hulk that is dying.  So let's encourage Ancestry to continue to fine tune and launch new products. Since "Genetic Communities" is technically still in "beta" form, it's a bit like April the Giraffe - we know Ancestry is giving birth, but we don't know when the final product is going to be delivered. Before I give you my read on this roll out and product, you need to know that in my former professional field, I have worked in a free trade association, for a software developer, and in management in one industry's outlets.  This gives me th
Read more