Today is Veteran's Day. My thoughts are for all of the American men and women around the world that are protecting the freedoms that we hold so close and dear to our hearts. My prayers for their protection and for them to return safely to their families.
I think of my co-workers who have served. For their part that they had in this world being the safe place that it is. I have the utmost respect for them. I am glad that they made it home. That they are able to have been and are my friends. Those same friends now back me up when danger lurks in the shadows. I feel secure in that knowledge.
For generations, I have found that my family has served and some have perished so that I could make it to where I am. All the way back to the Revolutionary War, the first seed of freedom, when men and women decided that it was worth more to have liberty than to live under oppression. To the point that the first American blood soaked our soil.
For my Grandfather, who served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. His two brothers also served. He has shared with me some of the many stories of he and his buddies during the war. The times they spent in North Africa, England, and Italy. He spoke of the little shack they built to live in during the time in Italy. How when in the winter they kept it warm by dripping diesel fuel into a sand catch that they kept lit. He laughed about what they went through to 'procure' this precious fuel. He spent just over 4 years overseas. That was the longest deployment up until this current war.
He told me of the time he was on a ship in Hawaii. About how one morning the ship was being moved out of the harbor for some unknown reason. By God's grace, that movement kept he and his buddies alive as Pearl Harbor was attacked that day. He let me read his journal he kept during the war.
This small 3 inch by 2 inch journal brought the pain and anguish our soldiers have suffered, home to me. He wrote about the days, the weather, what was happening around the base. Then one entry the joy he had when he turned around and saw that his brother had recently been assigned to his unit. His brother was on a B-17 crew that had many combat missions under its belt and was due to de-activate soon. Just a few short days later, that brother went on a bombing mission to Turin, Italy and was hit by enemy fire. They were already past the point of no return and had to bail out of the craft. The MACR had reports from other B-17 crews that said that every crewman's parachutes were deployed. All of them were seen splashing into the cold ocean waters that morning. The other crews circled them as long as they could, helpless as they saw their brothers in arms in the water, circled together holding each other arm in arm. The anguish of having to leave them when fuel reserves were too low, knowing no air/sea rescue was in this area.
My Grandfather's journal entry that day was, Earl left this morning on a mission. Later that day, Received news that Earl's plane was shot down, no news about Earl. For several days after that every entry consisted of 'no new news about Earl'. Then the entries stopped.
They never found Earl or any of his crewmates' bodies. He is remembered on a memorial in Florence, Italy. http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/fl.php Earl Service. My Grandfather has never been to see this memorial.
I leave you with this quote from Colin Powell. I have borrowed this from the website : http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-colin-powell.htm It is often misquoted, but here it is in part: "And when all those conflicts were over, what did we do? Did we stay and conquer? Did we say, "Okay, we defeated Germany. Now Germany belongs to us? We defeated Japan, so Japan belongs to us"? No. What did we do? We built them up. We gave them democratic systems which they have embraced totally to their soul. And did we ask for any land? No, the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead. And that is the kind of nation we are."
Freedom what does it mean to you? I know what it means to me, I have tried to share a part of this with you today. Do I want you to thank a veteran today? Yes. But more importantly, contemplate on just what it is to you, this cost of freedom.
BECOME THE THORN IN THE SIDE OF THE COMPLACENT!
Jeff
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