in remembrance

Today I got some bittersweet news - my Grandpa - Ed Paley passed away. He was 88 years old, had survived three quadruple bypass surgeries and had a kickass life. Born in Brooklyn NY, my grandpa volunteered for the 10th Mountain Division in WWII. He wrote letters home every week. His mom kept the letters, and we still have them along with many other of his writings. In the 10th, he was heroic. Not the type of heroic that brags, but the type that ponders in letters why he was the ONLY man in his unit left unscathed. In one battle in the Italian Alps, he ran across enemy fire, breaking all of the rules, losing his pack, medical kit and helmet, and forced a machine gunner to disassemble his gun and surrender. For this ordeal, he was awarded a Silver Star.

Along with bravery, Ed was known as an innovative army man, selling hammocks to his unit after a rainstorm at training camp swamped everyone's tent except his hammock. He had a great sense of humor. After liberating an Italian village, he was asked to address a group in a church by Italian villagers. On a raised platform he started reciting the only italian he knew, "Friends, Romans and Countrymen" and was rushed offstage. Later he was told that he was speaking to captured German soldiers.

After the war, he returned without a penny to his name, only to swoon my Grandmother, and later start a successful business that initiated an industry in manufacturing contamination control products while raising four kids. He was always trying and learning - welding, painting, sculpting, finding new ideas, up until the very end. He is survived by four children, ten grandchildren, and an amazing wife - my Grandmother, Florence Paley.

I always want to remember his strength and determination, so I painted my SUP paddle with the 10th Mountain Division insignia. It would have been nice to be able to show him, but I will always have him on my mind.

Hooah!