When I was growing up no present giving occasion passed without the required thank you notes at the end of the celebration. The joy of finding out what was under the Christmas tree or inside the birthday wrapping paper was followed by the knowledge that I was going to have to write a note to the giver of that gift. At six this was a hard burden, but I hope I progressed over the years to truly being thankful as I wrote those missives. In case I forgot my duties with pen and paper, one of the gifts was usually a box of stationary. These started off as lined paper with a juvenile picture on the side and were followed by increasingly mature boxes that ended up with thick cream colored folding notes that fit into an equally thick, impressive envelope.
My most complete thank you note, however, was written only a few years back in the form of a book. My maternal grandparents had a great deal of influence in my formative years. I spent a great deal of time as a resident in their home as my mother (their daughter) was widowed in the Second World War. She was a rather flighty individual, and much of the guidance and direction I received was from these two grandparents. By the time I was born and joined their household, my grandfather was a general in the Marine Corps and would go on to successfully lead his Marine division in the Korean War, one of the engagements being the iconic battle of the Chosin Reservoir.
I wrote a biography of this remarkable man who has been somewhat forgotten by history and his beloved Marine Corps. I allowed myself only the preface and prologue to express my own personal opinions of this person who was so important in my life. The rest of the book was taken from his letters, histories of the era, and oral accounts by his contemporaries.
Now, Jim Mattis, retired Marine general and former Secretary of Defense, who has a personal library of 7,000 volumes, has listed his 50 favorite books in his recent book entitled Call Sign Chaos. I was overwhelmed to find my book about my grandfather, For Country and Corps: The Life of General O. P. Smith, on that list. Those grandparents who oversaw my crudely printed efforts on that lined paper, would probably be amazed that something I wrote was published. But this was not only a book, but a thank you note to my grandparents for their important role in my young life. And while I can take pleasure in the honor of being mentioned by such a thoughtful reader, my real pleasure comes from knowing that my small thank you note has honored these same people as they deserve. Those two grandparents were right ---- gratitude is always necessary and, what is more, must be expressed to have any power.