Unmatched BraveryI hope everyone who visits this site had the chance to watch the ceremony at Normandy earlier this morning. I watched one of the programs commemorating the day and one thing stuck out- the perpetual humility of the great men who risked everything for their families back home and the much greater fight for liberty in the world. I had the sheer blessing of being raised in the shadows of two of these giants- my Grandfathers. One was a pilot for the Army's Air Force, another was an intelligence officer who was dropped into theater via a glider. Both were well-decorated, but never talked about it...like most veterans.
These men are part of "The Greatest Generation". And I agree with that moniker. But I heard a perspective I had never heard before today from one of these men on TV. He said the reason these people were so selfless...so focused on what was important...so brave in the face of danger was because what their lives had been like prior to the second Great War. Many knew about the last war to and all wars because their fathers had been soldiers as well...but all of them were products of the Great Depression. And because they had known what it was like to have little in the way of material things, they understood the importance of family, friends and freedom.
If you have a Grandpa or Grandma that was part of the WWII effort make sure to thank them for changing the course of the war 65 years ago...As Wendell Goller said, "there just aren't as many of them left." In fact, 1,800 WWII vets die a day right now; Let's honor them in person as long as we can.
5 comments:
You are damn right. My grandfather was an Army Air Corps vet during World War II. He worked on B-29's as a mechanic and never went overseas, but he always instilled in me the importance of honoring our veterans. When he died in 1991 it was a hard death for me to take.
My grandmother insisted that once she passed away, I would get the flag that was on his casket at his funeral. I refused to take it to my home until she was gone. When she passed last September, I brought it home and gave it a place of honor in my home. it will always have a place of honor.
Thanks for the story, Travis...you have to pass stories of your Grandpa onto your kids in a few years.
Well said. Freedom isn't free.
Boilerdowd,
I certainly plan on it. One of my favorite memories of him was that he took me to my first ever Cubs game in the summer of 1988. I grew up watching the Cubs almost every day at his house. Now that I am an adult, I do something at Wrigley I never do at other ballparks. Wrigley Field is the only ballpark I will buy a beer at. I always buy one Budweiser and sit there all quiet, imagining he is having one with me. It's an incredibly serene moment in about the 4th or 5th inning that I really enjoy.
Beer makes me serene, too. Serene and handsome. And a good singer.
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