Open Up Those Treasure Chests!

Suddenly we were the adults in the room.

Following the passing of our parents (our father died of Agent Orange-related cancer in 1991 and our mother died of ALS in 2004), my sisters and I found ourselves at Heather’s kitchen table the evening of  Mom’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

We were sharing memories, and wondering what to do as the latest recipients of trunks brimming with a potential treasure trove of military history.

Within these trunks lay a rich collection of photographs, letters, telegrams, portraits, uniforms, caps, medals, buttons, and folded and wrapped American flags, all belonging to our Marine grandfather General Rupertus and his son, Patrick Hill Rupertus, a Marine aviator. 

Here is one of the trunks.

The task of opening them up and sifting through these artifacts was nothing short of daunting.

Nevertheless, we agreed that the extraordinary lives of our grandparents held the potential for an incredible film in the future.

We each returned home…and stored the trunks in our attics.

For years I focused on our young children, my husband’s political service, fitness training and community service. I kept busy.

I avoided diving into the trunks, or the past.

However, in 2016 when my Charlotte, NC friend Don Brown discovered our grandfather during his research for his WWII book, “The Last Fighter Pilot”, he was stunned there was no biography written about General Rupertus.

He proposed I undertake the task of writing the book for the sake of our family and history.

Then he said, “Do it now, before it’s too late.”

That was all the motivation I needed. 

Due to the silence surrounding our grandfather, there was a lack of knowledge of this history, that could provide insight for today.

Consequently, some 80 years later, authors and historians often have to rely on hearsay as fact, perpetuating inaccuracies. See this article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2677997 .

A good reason to tell your story, if you can, while alive.

After talking to the head of Marine Corps History Division, I felt compelled to break the silence.

In opening the trunks, I learned our mother, Gail Rupertus, had started this journey in the 1990s after our father died.

I found a letter from 1998 our mother sent to Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, https://www.usni.org/people/joseph-h-alexander regarding a tv production he was affiliated with on the Pacific. 

Col. Alexander (now deceased), wrote back to to our mother in a letter dated April 16, 1998.

An excerpt:

“Any general or admiral who commands in a great battle becomes, thereby, a public figure, subject to the evaluation by future historians.

In the battles of World War II, legendary commanders like MacArthur, Patton, Montgomery, and Halsey each had their decisions reviewed and critiqued, often in less favorable terms. That’s history.

I respect the man as I do any commander in a tough spot. He certainly had the much more difficult task of fighting that battle (Peleliu) than I have had in analyzing it a half-century later.

Please let me suggest an alternate course for you; the field of military biography is crying for fresh accounts of World War II Marine commanders.

Why don’t you undertake the story of the life and service of General Rupertus, a distinguished Marine about whom little is known? “

My knowledge of our grandfather was limited to:

• He wrote the famous Rifleman’s Creed
• He lost his first family.
• Sleepy Rupertus was our grandmother.
• He served on Peleliu.
• He died at age 56.

Little did I know that delving into those trunks, then deeper into our grandfather’s life, would reveal a tapestry of experiences that has been left out of history.

What if we had not opened the trunks?

Opening your trunks (or boxes you’ve been hauling around) does not mean you have to write a book.

But, I promise you will find gems.

You will learn amazing things about your family and friends.

You will discover cool photos.

Your memory will be spurred.

You’ll see courage, tenacity, and resolve exhibited over generations.

Thats what drove me.

I encourage you to open up those family trunks.

Do it now. Before it’s too late.