People Are Dropping The Dark Family Lore They Found Out About Years Later, And Holy Crap

18.

“My grandfather killed his youngest brother to get out of going to Vietnam. He, his brother, and two of their friends had their numbers called in the draft for Vietnam. They didn’t want to go, obviously, but they didn’t come from money, and all worked to support their families. If they got arrested, they’d lose their jobs, and their families would lose their income. So, they decided on a different plan to avoid going.”

“The plan was to get too injured to get sent to war, but not so injured as to be permanently disabled, and it had to look like an accident so nobody got arrested.

My grandfather was driving, his friend was in the passenger seat, and the other two were in the back. His brother was behind the passenger seat. They hit the tree doing about 40kph — enough to be serious. A broken leg for my grandfather, a broken arm for the guy behind him, and broken ribs all around. They definitely weren’t going to war.

The problem was that for maximum impact, and because this was rural Australia in the sixties, they weren’t wearing seatbelts. And nobody found them or their car for about an hour. Nobody considered internal injuries in this plan. And my grandfather’s brother bled to death from a ruptured spleen in the backseat. He was dead before they got to a hospital.

My grandfather never forgave himself, and he never talked about it. My grandma was the only one he ever told, as far as we know, and she didn’t tell my mother and me until long after his death.

I don’t think my mother told any of her siblings, so technically this is still the family secret. I guess now you’re all in on it.”

—calibrateichabod