Carl Ralph Bonde, Jr. Age 21, killed by U-Boat Torpedo, on his way to the “Battle of the Bulge.”

I grew up not knowing what happened, exactly.  Now I know where his body is, under about 150 feet of water in the English Channel, about 5 miles out of the French port of Cherbourg. Two Christmases ago my nephew Jon and my son Bob were about to dig into a plate of lutefisk, resurrected from family lore and the local Tiger IGA, microwaved and drenched in butter to be barely palatable.  I wanted to make a speech about the reasons why we would of should eat such a thing.  (I had a piece of paper with reasons:  it could be seen as a sort of sacrament + other reasons.)  

“This a special night,” I said.  I was thinking about Christmas Eve and lutefisk.  To my surprise, my nephew’s daughter Katie said, “Yes.  Your uncle died on Christmas Eve.