Jason and I decided to head to New York to go on a little adventure, just the two of us. Here, we are on a ferry headed to Ellis Island. My entire life I’ve always wondered what this place looked like, what mysteries it held, and imagined the thoughts of those who first set foot on American soil. 
Thousands of times, I’ve put myself in the shoes of those who saved every penny to come to the United States, to make a better life for their family, and to be free from tyranny and oppression.
My great-grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1901, followed by his wife and son in 1903. My entire childhood I heard about these stories, and placed myself in my grandmother’s shoes… waiting for her husband to save enough money so he could send for them, and bring them to a New World.
Only letters were exchanged when the time had come for her to set sail for the New York Harbor. She left only with a wicker basket of necessities, the clothes on her back, and her boy. She walked away leaving everything and everyone else behind, not knowing what was ahead of them.
From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America’s largest immigration station, where over 12 million immigrants were processed. In that time frame only 6% were sent back to where they came from, due to sickness, disease, unpaid debts, or legal problems. They were careful not to allow a menace to society enter into our land.
When my grandmother landed on Ellis Island in 1903, they both were processed and approved in the same day. I imaged her holding her baby’s hand, telling him in her native language to keep still, and wait patiently as the proper staff were evaluating them both for disease and any sign of sickness.
She never spoke English, and as they were processing her papers, they had her spell her name. Because of constant policy changes, it was not unusual for last names of families to be changed. Some weren’t. For my grandparents, the immigration authorities changed the spelling of their last name because of phonetic reasons. They were given an Americanized version.
Ellis Island was known to have interpreters for many different languages, so when my grandmother was given a literary test, she passed the basics, and was allowed to pass through the land of liberty with her son.
I cannot tell you what a treasure it was to come see a place my grandfather often talked about. No wonder he was a proud American and served his country faithfully. He was certainly grateful for this great country, and he made sure all his children and grandchildren knew that we lived in the land of the free.
Fun Fact: Both of my great-parents never knew how to speak English. Their entire family and community spoke Croatian, so I guess why learn, right!? 
When their children went to public school, this would be the first time the children learned to speak, read, and write in the English language.
When their children went to public school, this would be the first time the children learned to speak, read, and write in the English language. When their 5 boys went to war during the 1940s, all of their sons would write letters to their mother in English, but she could never read them. And when my grandmother sat at her kitchen table to write to her boys, my grandfather said he and his brothers could never read any of her letters because they were written in Croatian. Each had to have an interpreter. The only way they could understand each other was speaking their native language… 4 years at war with only letters to exchange.
I’m not much of a movie watcher, but if you’ve ever seen Saving Private Ryan, you’d understand why my grandfather could not watch more than 5 minutes of that movie… the scene of the white farm house and red barn, where the mother is standing in her kitchen washing dishes, the 4-star flag hanging from her window (indicating she has 4 sons at war). As the military car drives up, she stops what she’s doing and goes to meet them on her front porch. They give her the news every mother dreads.
Some say this was the greatest generation of men. I say they are called the greatest generation because of the fathers and mothers who instilled character and integrity within their children, and in our culture. They raised them to be grateful patriots. The soldiers of WWII that volunteered to go fight against the tyranny and socialist’s dictatorships, their character came from several generations before them that built a generation of good men who were willing to be willing. Our country was booming with patriots who were willing to fight for other’s freedoms whatever the cost.
The soldiers of WWII that volunteered to go fight against the tyranny and socialist’s dictatorships, their character came from several generations before them that built a generation of good men who were willing to be willing. Our country was booming with patriots who were willing to fight for other’s freedoms whatever the cost. I think about my great-grandmother who had a 5-star flag in the window of her little white farmhouse. She was from another country and 5 of her boys served in a different country that she now called her own. 
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️️️️️She never saw a military car drive up her dirt road. She never had to bury any of her boys. All 5 served in separate countries all over the world… the Philippians, Poland, Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Germany, etc. All 5 came back home to that little white farmhouse to eat meals at her table again… eventually resuming back to normal farm life once more.
I may be glorifying her personality, but I would like to think how thankful she was that they made it home, and how proud she must have been of all 5 to serve the Land of Liberty.
Soli Deo Gloria
-Natalie