- April 18, 2024
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A large wooden ship wall display is surrounded by more than 25 photos of family members donning military uniforms on the Stewart’s living room wall in their Palm Coast home. A family tree of sorts — some photos are black and white from times when there were military drafts, while others are colored, showing more recent enlistings.
“When I got the ship and I had these military pictures, I thought ‘Oh, that would be a neat place to put them,’” said Nola Stewart, whose 96-year-old husband, James, served in WWII.
The family has over 30 relatives in the U.S. Armed Forces, representing many different branches, including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force.
In 1998 when the Stewarts moved to Palm Coast, Nola started organizing the wall of photos commemorating family members who are presently or were formerly in the military, and it’s became a conversation starter for visitors and a growing household icon.
Nola’s son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Joyce Grubenhoff, who both served in the U.S. Army, moved in with her and James a few years ago.
“To us, this is normal,” Joyce said. “We’re a military family — even further back and wider than this (wall).”
“I think it speaks for itself.”
Joyce and Mark Grubenhoff met in 1978 at a U.S. Army social in Monterey, California when they were in their 20s.
It was love at first sight for Joyce, who has lived in Palm Coast for five years.
“He came in with a friend of his and he sat across the club, and I looked at him and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that is the most beautiful man I have ever laid my eyes on.”
While Mark didn’t pay any attention to Joyce at first, she later learned that was because he thought she was with a male friend sitting next to her.
“He kept looking, but he wouldn’t come over and ask me to dance,” she said. “I started digging ice cubes out of my drink and pitching them across the club and hitting him with them. He finally came over and asked me to dance.”
She gave Mark her phone number, but he lost it. The next morning, when she thought all hope was lost for finding the man that stole her heart the night before, she walked into the cafeteria at the Defense Language Institute and spotted Mark across the room.
“I left food and everything and ran out and met him,” Joyce said. “And hey, the rest is history.”
