Posted on 03/06/2008 7:48:23 AM PST by stylin19a
As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.
The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty-five feet away. I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, "You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.
I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay.
I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem." He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me.
Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old gentleman that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.
The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?" He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal.
He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.
He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.
I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me.
Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me and I said I would and drove off.
For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long, time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name......... "Congressional Medal of Honor Society."
I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over.
I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man alright, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence.
Semper Fi
thought you might like this...
Cool.
Damn allergies again, making my screen fuzzy.
Thanks for posting.
I break out my Marine-dictionary for this one-
‘Oo-rah!
Ooh rah. My son ships out in May for a MEU with the 2/5. Like father like son.
A really touching story that truly gives one ‘pause’. Thanks for passing it along.
I had recieved this in an email, the other week.
It makes a great story if it is true!
http://www.grunt.com/scuttlebutt/newsarchives/2007/nov_8.asp
However, according to this post:
My good friend and author, Bob Peavey, wrote me a note after he read this. His note is below:
Great story except the 1st Mar Div never landed on Tarawa or Saipan, those were taken by my Dad's 2nd Mar Div. Makes one wonder how true the story was. Hmmmmm?
http://forums.grunt.com/forums/p/38347/298986.aspx#298986
Sure enough:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Division_(United_States)
Engagements World War II * Battle of Guadalcanal * Battle of Peleliu * Battle of Cape Gloucester * Battle of Okinawa
Wiped a tear.. {pause} I am NOT a you know what..
Thanks for the ping!
So happy that I married a two time viet nam vet Marine....we have met some mighty fine people riding our cycles across the country....
America should be very proud, don’t look at Washington D.C. to see how great we are, look in each and every state of the union, you’ll find us....
Pass the tissues........what a wonderful story.
God how I love the Marines and stories like this. Speaking of God, does anyone doubt that He had something to do with three fellow Marines coming to the aid of an old Marine?
Nice story, but it’s the Medal of Honor - not the Congressional MOH.
The one who yelled at the old guy just had to be a Democrat.
My screen is doing the same thing. I think it is some HTML code no one will tell me.
(Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, 16 March 1945.)
Have you seen this email?
A woman in a hot air balloon realizes she is lost. She lowers her altitude and spots a man fishing from a boat below. She shouts to him, “excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.” The man consults his portable GPS and replies, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
She rolls her eyes and says, “You must be a Republican!” “I am,” replies the man. “How did you know?” “Well,” answers the balloonist, “everything you tell me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’re not much help to me.”
The man smiles and responds, “You must be a Democrat.” “I am,” replies the balloonist. “How did you know?” “Well,” says the man, “You don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”
Thank God For The US Military.
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