Today means a lot to me, as it does (and should) for all Americans. When my mother, Daphne Cavin, was still alive, every Memorial Day was spent laying flowers at the graves of her first and second husbands’. Both men were in WWII. Her second husband, my father, made it home from the War. Mother’s first husband did not. Raymond Kelley died in France fighting for our Country.
In 1998, when NBC Nightly News first contacted my mother to be interviewed for Tom Brokaw’s segment “Home of the Brave“, she was excited (if not a little bit apprehensive) to talk about Raymond and the War. Like so many others who had died in WWII, Raymond was hardly ever mentioned, and the interview with Brokaw gave her the chance to talk about Raymond, and the War that she had avoided mentioning for so long. A few months later, mother was contacted by Brokaw again and asked for her and Raymond’s story to be included in his book The Greatest Generation. Many people who read The Greatest Generation were taken by my mother and Raymond’s story, and from that, my novel When You Come Home was born.
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Joe Smydo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mr. Smydo interviewed me about my mother and my book. I am proud to have been involved with his article, ‘Greatest Generation’ Quickly Vanishing, and hope that on this Memorial Day, you will each take a few moments to read the article and contemplate on the great men and women who gave their lives in service to our Country.
Nancy Cavin Pitts 