NOVEMBER 2013
SUNRAYS | 37
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picture.” Truth be known, I would have
fallen in love with him, too!
LIFE AFTER THE WAR
As a married woman, Renie was sched-
uled to muster up and out of the Navy
when the war ended, but at least she got
to serve an exciting year. Back in 1944,
you’ll recall, Renie was afraid the war
would end before she could even qualify
to be a WAVE, so she was grateful for
that year. And Ken? Well, Renie proudly
tells me he was a “Mustang.” Now, the
only mustang I knew of was a horse, so
she had to explain. A “Mustang” in the
military, she told me, was someone who
came up through the ranks the hard way.
Ken started at the bottom and retired as
a Lieutenant Commander after 30 years
of dedicated service to the Navy. Dur-
ing those 30 years, he flew 38 different
airplanes. Proud? Of course!
The family moved to many countries
around the world, “Too many to count,”
Ken said. But the children, a son and a
daughter, were the big winners because
they were afforded educational riches
above and beyond what they could have
received had they been grounded in the
U.S.
Ken and Renie were stationed in Hawaii
when they celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary. Remember Duffy, the buddy
who introduced them? Well, he and Re-
nie’s best friend, Barbara, both came
to Hawaii for the occasion. “It’s really
something when your best man is there
for your 50th.” Yes, Ken, it is. And it’s
also really something when your Maid
of Honor shows up too, isn’t it, Renie?
HONORED VETERANS
Both veterans were on a recent Honor
Flight to Washington, D.C., to visit the
WWII memorial. Spouses aren’t normal-
ly included on these flights, but Renie, as
a female veteran, was an exception. In
fact, the two are the first and only couple
so far to go on this trip. When asked to
speak at the dinner that evening, Re-
nie remembered this poem written by a
WWI military veteran (yes, you read it
right, that’s World War I):
“I am a Woman and a Veteran,
And I say it with great pride.
I gave the very best I had,
There’s nothing I need hide.
I have the right to know
That the burden that I bore
Will always be remembered
When they tell about the war.”
―Janet Taylor, WWI, Portsmouth,
Rhode Island
As soon as she said the first words, “I
am a woman and a veteran…,” she im-
mediately received emotional applause
from her fellow veterans in the room.
Speaking directly to the many female
veteran attendees in the room, she called
attention to the incredible timing of the
poem―almost 100 years―and ended
with, “Look where we women are now!
Your lament has come to pass, Ms. Tay-
lor. We’ve come a long way, baby!”
Renie and Ken, thank you for sharing
your beautiful love story, and thank
you, too, for your years of service to our
country. As each of you said at different
times during our visit, “It was a war that
everybody lived and shared in, military
or not.” True words, my friends.
At top is Ken with his plane in 1944; below are Renie and Ken in their uniforms.
