MEMORIAL DAY--Thread One--"Discussions With a One-Legged Man"

The Local Graveyard...and a 1 legged man | 5/24/04 | redrock

[redrock]

"Find the cost of freedom,
buried in the ground "

Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young

I tend to wander around cemeteries. Especially right before Memorial Day. It seems to help me regain focus on the day that is set aside to honour those who have served this Nation in uniform.

On one such visit...I noticed a man ( a fairly old man with white hair) wearing part of a military uniform. Why I noticed is pretty simple....he had only one leg...and was supported by his remaining leg..and 2 wooden crutches.

It kinda stands out...especially in a cemetery.

As I got closer to where he was standing....I noticed the medals ON his uniform jacket. I tend to notice such things as someone wearing a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.

It kinda stands out....especially in a cemetery.

Somehow (actually on purpose) I started up a conversation. We talked for a couple of hours...both of us serving in the Army. Him in WWII...me in Vietnam.

He told of how he served in Italy, fighting inch by inch up the country. How he lost his best friend at Anzio...of how he lost his leg at a place called Monte Cassino.(he said that he missed his friend much more than his leg)

We both came to a silent understanding. That we were Brothers.

"Businessmen they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth"
Bob Dylan--"All Along the Watchtower"

From the cemetery we could see the freeway below...and all the cars full of people on their way to someplace. We could see the stores below..and the people going in to those stores to shop...and buy things for themselves or their families.

..and then...he asked me..(and maybe just all the dead that lay nearby)...the question that made me want to remember him...and write about him.

In a slow (sad voice) he asked...." I wonder if any of them know?? I wonder if any of them know the price that their Freedom cost??? I wonder if any of them know that their Freedom was paid for in blood...and lives?? I wonder if any of them know that every square inch of this Nation has been paid for with the blood of their fathers...sons..and brothers???? "

Stunned....I stammered out something about Memorial Day coming up.

He looked at me and just shook his head...."They don't care about it..except it gives them a three day weekend. They don't WANT to remember us....we aren't popular."

I wanted to tell him that he was wrong...that they DO remember.

But,in the end, he was right. Most do NOT remember.

It has become a three day weekend. Time for camping...or overtime at work...or getting drunk at the barbecue.

MOST do not remember.

MOST do not WANT to remember.

But there is still time to change the outcome of this coming Memorial Day.

There is STILL time to place the flags on the graves....and to stand at the end of those graves and tell those who served this Nation......"Thank You".

I KNOW where I will be on Memorial Day. I will be with my children placing flags...and introducing my children to new friends.

Ones who can no longer speak...except thru us.

But ones, that if we are to remain Free, we NEED to Remember.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.-"

Ronald Reagan 1961

[Ciexyz]

Here's remembering all our wounded and disabled vets who are so often pushed aside and overlooked.

[redrock]

I'l raise my Mtn. Dew (red) in a toast to them....the wounded and disabled.

redrock

[Ciexyz]

Disabled vets have problems getting hired even by government agencies. It depends on what the disability is: severely-handicapped vets are discouraged by physician exams that find they're not capable of performing the core duties of the position.

In other words, agencies like "nice" disabilities like hearing loss, because the person is still physically able to run around the building and lift heavy boxes.

I remember old-time vets at my federal agency who were missing an arm or several fingers. But the favorite disability now is "deaf" or "hearing loss".

[editor-surveyor]

Praying for you, Redrock

Heal quickly