My cousin, Charles Mateer, who died in 1961, was a class mate of ours.
You may not remember him because he was very soft spoken and quiet.
But smart as a whip!
He chose to make the Army a career...and became an excellent helicopter pilot.
Our mothers were as close as two sisters can be. I remember once Charles" mother talking to my mother about "having trouble sleeping....because of nightmares." She said they always "involved a man coming to her door with horrible news...."
My mother advised her to eat a large lunch and "go light" on supper.
Charles and I grew up, of course, during WW2 and our games as children were almost always "soldiers."
Charles actually became one after college and I continued working in broadcasting.
Although he went to State and I attended Carolina, we remained in almost constant touch.
He chose a military career and, of course, I chose broadcasting.
In the early 60's we both found ourselves in Washington, DC.
We got together a few times up here, and each time found ourselves reminiscing about our days as children during WW2...and our constant games of playing soldier.
He asked me once if I remembered WHY we ever stopped "playing" soldier.
"Because," I said..."it suddenly dawned on me that soldiers can get killed.
That ruined the game for me."
We both laughed...…...and went our separate ways.
That's the last time I saw Charles.
Shortly afterwards, there was a knock on Charles' mother's door.......
