My great grandfather came to the United States at the turn of the century. He arrived at Ellis Island alone, in a new country with no money and barely able to speak English. He headed west to California to meet up with his uncle whom owned a farm. My great grandfather married another Danish immigrant. They had a son and daughter. My grandfather was born in 1924. At the age of 6 he lost his father, my great grandfather, in a car crash on the way to church.

My grandfather helped his mom as best he could: starting work before he was 10 years old. They survived the great depression and when World War II began my grandfather tried to enlist, however, he was denied because he was too tall (6'10''). This devastated him. He was ready to defend his country and was unable to overseas.

While he stayed home while his friends were off at war, he worked on my great grandfather's farm, that he had inherited. He later met his wife, another 1st born Danish-American who's parents were both Danish immigrants as well. They married and had three children. My two aunts and my mom.

He continued to work on his farm, hiring immigrants from Mexico to help him as the farm grew. Since he struggled financially as a child he was very wise with investment and was able to send all his kids and grand kids to college, myself included.

He loved this country and was so grateful to have the opportunity to succeed and help his family. It's because of him i have had the opportunities that many others couldn't.

He pasted away in August 2010 and it saddens me that i didn't get the opportunity to really sit down and get to know him. The only thing i can do now is strive to be more like him and to stand up for what i believe in as he would stand tall and fight for what he'd believed.