I am the oldest of J.M.Templeton's daughters. At family reunions at Grandpa & Grandma's place near Bunyan,Texas I was always impressed by Temp & the rest of the "older cousins. I was only 13 years younger, but that was a wide age gap for a girl who was still a preschooler.
When World War II came along, most of those older cousins went off to war & all the family--young & old--felt both pride & anxiety about those "boys" who were abruptly thrust into premature adulthood. How happy we all were when the war ended!
Then came the Cuban Missile Crisis with Russian ships bringing nuclear warheads to Fidel Castro. With these, Castro would have the capability of delivering devasting attacks on the U.S. directly from Cuba. President Kennedy "drew a line in the sand" by surrounding Cuba with a blockade of U.S. warships. Then he warned Russia not to sail past a specified point. For 3 or 4 days the world watched as Russia's ships came closer & closer. Just before they crossed the "line" they turned and headed back to Russia while the world breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, the Strategic Air Command SAC was on high alert. All of their jets had been moved from their regular sites to storage places that had been prearranged for just such a situation as this. As most of you probably already know, Temp was a SAC pilot. I believe my father had everyone he knew convinced everything would turn out right because Temp was a SAC pilot. I wish you could have known Daddy. He loved all his relatives dearly.
My Husband Charles met Temp after our marriage in 1954 so he had no chance to know him as a boy or a young adult. He had heard all about him before he ever met him. As I already said, you should have know Uncle J.M.
So many memories have been brought to the surface at this time!. Let me encourage you to remember the importance of family even though you are scattered to many places. Let e-mail keep you in touch with each other!
Love,
Mary RoseTempletonBowen##imported-begin##Mary RoseTempletonBowen##imported-end##
