And thanks to you too, redrock, for your service to America.
Posted on 03/07/2005 9:42:33 PM PST by redrock
Barring any major miracles...this will be Hal's last winter.
The cancer has moved into his bones..and at his age there is not much that can be done.
The doctors have given him pain medication...but the cancer is advanced enough to send spasms of pain thru his body every so often. You can see it in his face.....and watch it in his eyes.
And when he is 'passed on'....(or in real terms...dead)...a few people will mourn his passing.....a few people will miss him and the impact that he has made on their lives.
And another piece of American History will have been lost.....
For you see...a long time ago (as he puts it)...a young man answered the call of his Nation...and went to war.
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He grew up in a small farming town in central Utah. A place that could be transported to a thousand other spots in America...and it would fit like a glove...into whatever time and place you put it.
Working in the fields...tending to the livestock. Wondering if he would be spending his entire life in that small Utah town...and like most young men....sometimes hoping that he would not.
Then...Pearl Harbour. His Nation at War.
When he became old enough...like most men of his time...he enlisted. Chose the Navy....(he told me once that he enlisted in the Navy because he was tired of seeing dirt...and thought that water would be nice.)
Once thru training he was assigned to the AV-15. The Hamlin. A seaplane tender that was commissioned in June of 1944. As he always put's it..."she was a tough little ship...and her planes did all sorts of duty...from killing Japanese Submarines..to moving supplies...to rescuing downed pilots....to providing air cover for the Houston and Reno." Ships that were damaged off of Luzon in October of 1944.
He remembers watching the Japanese suicide planes off of Okinawa. Other sister ships being damaged (one Kamikaze hitting another seaplane tender...and making three holes in the hull...2 by bombs and one where the planes engine went thru)..but the Hamlin fighting them all off and suffering no damage.
He remembers being in Tokyo Bay...when the Japanese signed the surrender papers aboard the Missouri. Of how proud he was that he was there....that his crew was there.
After the war....he went home. Lived his life. Did the best that he could.....
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Hals story is not one of Purple Hearts...Silver Stars....of holding off waves of enemy attackers by himself. It IS a story of the backbone of this Nation. Of those who went...and of those who continue to serve. Hals story is just like countless others. Men, and women, who stood guard on some remote place....who fueled planes....who did all the countless tasks that are required...and did so simply because their Nation needed them.
And yet....we have forgotten them.
Sure...we make grand monuments...and feel a satisfaction that we have done all that we could.
But, in the bright light of life's finality, we have failed miserably to fully honour them.
By remembering them.
And yet....it is inexpensive to honour them...and takes very little time.
Take a moment this week....visit a Retirement home...go to the wards of the nearest V.A. Hospital.
...and just talk to them....and take a moment to listen to their stories.
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There are a lot of pressing concerns in the world today.
Terrorism...politics....the economy....illegal immigration.
And in focusing all of our time and energy on these issues we overlook, and bypass, that which has made our Nation "..a shining city on a hill."
There IS a common thread that runs thruout the history of our Nation. It is one of service...it is one of citizens standing up and taking the responsibility of making sure that our future is secure.
...and when we forget these men and women who HAVE stood up...who did take the responsibility...then we are ,perhaps, making the future less secure....less American.
Take a few minutes this week....and honour these Patriots.
By just talking to them...and, most importantly of all,...listening.
redrock
redrock
redrock
God bless you, redrock. Thank you.
MoJo.....I think the ping list would be just fine for this.
redrock
What a beautiful tribute and exhortation to care for our heroes while we can!
I can't believe it, I was just thinking tonight that redrock hasn't pinged me in a long time and look what happened!
bttp
Bump and bookmark.
redrock
redrock
redrock
redrock
And thanks to you too, redrock, for your service to America.
I get to spend time with vets at the local haunts and it's always good to hear their stories or to hear their take on current events. It never seems like enough to thank them just by listening.
But then again, maybe it is.
Take care and keep the rubber on the road.
Take a moment this week....visit a Retirement home...go to the wards of the nearest V.A. Hospital.
...and just talk to them....and take a moment to listen to their stories.
I appreciate your post but disagree with the title. It is not America's shame. There are many who do visit hospitals and nursing homes to visit with all who are there, not just Vets (and I am one).
The greater shame is with the families who do not visit. I never saw any visitors to my Mom's roommate when she was in a nursing home. The woman was near death, and mentally not all there, but there were many who were like that and had family visit if only to hold their hands. We need look no further than the mirror to see who should be visiting friends in the hospital, recovering at home, or even sending a card of support or sympathy, which is in keeping with the body of your post.
It is not America's shame, it is ours.
Beautiful and very thought provoking at the same time.
Regards to you, my friend.
Thank you redrock. A good reminder.
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