For Ethan, Oliver, Shaena and Avi and Julian

Arthur Gelman OBITUARY (born 1917)My dad

Gelman, Arthur, 89, passed away on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Grace Gelman and two children, Janet Gelman (husband, John Putnam and Cyndi Lenz. He also had one son, Mark Robert Gelman. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Adam Lenz, Shaena Lily Putnam and Julian Putnam. Arthur was born on June 19, 1917 in Chelsea, MA. As a teenager he moved to Los Angeles, attended LA High School, but in his early twenties he rode the rails through America back to Massachusetts. He served in the Air Force during World War II in Okinawa. He married Grace Freedman in 1945. They lived in Revere, MA until 1982 when they moved to Boca Raton, FL. In Florida he volunteered for the Democratic Party and for the Palm Beach County Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He was a Mason. In 2005 he moved with Grace to Boulder, CO. He was a great father and grandfather and good friend. He will be missed. He had a great sense of humor, generous with his heart, loving, gentle, and always interested in the world around him.

He had a monkey when he was in Okanowa.

My Mom Grace

Gelman, Grace, 86, formerly of Boca Raton, FL passed away on June 4, 2009 in Boulder, Colorado. Grace was in the army. She served on US soil as an aide in the hospitals that took care of amputees. I know for sure she was in Chattanooga. She talked a lot about this time in her life. When Pearl Harbor was attacked and my Uncle Bernie joined up she felt compelled to join and do her part. My grandfather was not in favor of this but she did it anyway.

For our Lenz Family

Henry A Lenz

Henry A. Lenz

29 Jan 1917

5 Apr 2012

Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States of America

My father-in-law Henry

From my sister-in-law Carol

Dad was on USS Harriman at the battle at Midway where he earned a Purple Heart. He also served time on a few other ships the last being USS Glen and then went on land as a recruiter until he retired I think in 1959.

Midway was where the US made the turning point to winning. Dad’s ship was hauling the USS Yorktown when it was hit by the Japanese kamikaze. Dad has just got off duty from the engine room and he said within a few minutes his was ankle deep in water and his ship was sinking. He always said that the men that fell on top of him in the life boat saved his life as the ship was sinking and the depth charges released such a powerful burst those men were killed. He also said he was thinking he was going to die but a voice said to him “son it’s not your time”. As you know dad was not a religious man but when he told me this his eyes teared up. After the Battle at Midway he went on another ship but I don’t recall its name it also exploded and he burned his elbows badly. He was in the water for over a day until rescued. I have the telegram the navy sent my grandmother saying dad had been wounded. I can not fathom what this was like for my grandparents. Dad was their whole world.

Thank you to these amazing veterans and to all the veterans on this Veterans Day.

Tell me your story of your favorite veteran!