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.
..and it is a contract to 'never forget'.
It is time for America to really kick in and honour that contract...just by remembering those who served.
Each of us.....since WE are America.
redrock
Hope all is well with you and yours.
redrock
BUMP!
redrock
redrock
redrock
All gave some - some gave all!! God bless our troops and bring them home safe.
redrock
redrock
I still know a few WWII warriors who are still active mentally and physically. My wife and I try to thank them in private for their service everytime we see them. If their wives are still alive, we thank the wives for what their men did.
Sniff, Sniff....., brings back lots of memories of the guys at the Veteran's Home. Some were fairly young, in their fifties, and even though most had a disability of some sort they all seemed to share a vital energy. You could see exactly why we won the wars, there was no problem they wouldn't try to solve....Always dreaming up mischef usually revolving around bringing in booze after hours. One was even running the "oldest business in the world", complete with three female associates, out of the back of his camper. It was parked right in front of the administration building for weeks before anyone figured it out!
Also brings back memories of the cat man, who never saw a cat he didn't want to take care of, and would sneak them in after hours but forget to sneak them out for potty breaks. I once found one stashed in a locker with food and water. He said it was sick and he was "doctoring" it.
The squirrel man who taught them to do tricks for peanuts. The mechanic who always wanted to work on our cars; the auto detailer, who did the best job you ever saw for $40.00.
I believe all are gone now.
God bless Hal and his associates. I feel privileged to have taken care of some of them. You don't find many men like them anymore.
Lovely sentiments, Redrock. Thank you. Another place we can visit and listen to stories is with our own parents and grandparents. Now that I'm my Dad's care-giver, I've found that he's more willing to talk about some of details of his service as one of two physicians who set up the First Aid stations on Iwo Jima. His was a harrowing and difficult job. He wrote over 200 letters to the families of corpmen he lost. I could never comprehend the strength of character he had to have had. I'm honored that he's finally sharing some of his experiences with me.
Every man and women who have
served our country Honorably,
past and present,
deserve our respect.
Thanks for the reminder Brother.
May God guide them and protect them.
Too many, way to many, of our brothers have been forgotten...pushed to the side.
It's wrong.
..and if I can, in any way, remind (gently of course) people...then I will.
Take Care.
Mike
Thank you for this. The Republican Women's group I belong to is very big on vets' issues; sending cards, participating in parades, etc.
I was on the USS Missouri in October while visiting my son. it was very impressive. I pray that Hal will pass into God's arms and be relieved of his horrific pain.
That's a very nice post Meek.
redrock
This kind of hits home as i have just returned from being a pallbearer for a Battle of the bulge veteran. a humble man who was a brave warrior. Some of his old buddies traveled a long ways to give him a final salute.
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