Veteran’s Day

I work in a nursing home where, on a regular basis, I have the privelege of providing healthcare services to men and women who served in the armed forces, and some who have even lost a son or daughter in the protection of our rights and liberties.  These people have sacrificed much more than many of us will ever know, and have lived their lives in quiet dignity.  They seldom share the magnitude of their contribution, preferring instead to keep the stories of battles, and bars, of bullets and bombs and blood, and of their lasting friendships locked away.  Once in a while, I am honored to listen to their tales.

I have listened to the stories of a Gold Star Mother, whose son died in Southeast Asia, as she showed me his posthumous medals.  I listened to a paratrooper who jumped (his words, not mine) “at” Nomandy on D-day, and actually landed some miles inland.  I met and spoke with a bombadier on a B-24 Bomber, and to a German soldier who was “drafted”, in time to see the bombing of Dresden from the ground.  He spent several months in a POW camp prior to coming to the United States.  Closer to home, I am priveleged to be the brother, son, and friend to several United States Marines, to whom I send out “Semper Fi”, and my gratitude.

In the United States we celebrate the achievements of these heroes on Veteran’s Day, November 11.  I’ll be working, because that’s what I do. They’ll be quietly remembered, and honored by those that know, and those that love them.  My hope and my prayer is, while so many of “The Greatest Generation” pass on everyday, we learn from them the quiet dignity and grace that comes from serving a cause greater than ourselves, and from being role models in deeds, not words.

God Bless you all, as you have blessed us.