Another Hero just in case anyone wants to be able to say they know what one looks like.
Posted on 03/13/2009 11:09:13 AM PDT by oldscouter
The word hero is attached to many people in American culture. A Quarterback throws the winning touchdown with 6 seconds left in the game, and he is called a hero. A movie actor makes a political statement while accepting an award, and he is called heroic. A politician takes a stance on an issue based on popularity polls rather than ethics and principle, and he is deemed a hero.
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America has lost another hero. One who fully understood what “Semper Fidelis” means, and who lived it his entire life. Goodbye Uncle Bobby. Semper Fi!"
A Salute to a Soldier who Served his Country.
What an amazing tribute! Thanks for sharing this one.
I have served with heros who did what they did without gratitude or recognition because they knew it was the right thing. I have seen the terror in the eyes of a 19 year old PFC as he entered a hot LZ, like he had numerous times before, and did not hesitate for a second to deploy under fire. I have seen a 22 year old Warrant Officer bring his UH1D into the same LZ under heavy fire to medivac that 19 year old kid 15 minutes later. I have seen a 24 year old Capt write a letter to that 19 year old’s parents telling them that their son died a hero. I know that same courage was displayed by my father and uncles in WWII and my Grandfather in WWI. I have stood in the Notch at Gettysburg and imagined the heroism of Pickett’s men to attack that hill and the courage to repel them, but I have NEVER seen actual courage in Washington, DC or Hollywood.
Don’t sell John Wayne and Charlton Heston short.
RIP Old Warrior
Semper Fidelis
What an awesome tribute to a REAL hero
God bless him and may the family be comforted by their memories.
Here is a tribute to another Marine. My nephew wrote it after talking to Dad’s other Grandchildren and it is a compilation of their experience watching Dad die.
By the way, he requested before he died that the Marine Hymn be played as his casket was rolled out of church.
The Greatest Generation
It came as no shock when I heard the news;
There was no other way for him to choose.
The disease had gotten the best of him;
The odds of getting better were slim.
He’d made his peace, he’d prepared for the end;
He was only hanging on for his family and friends.
We had to let him go and understand;
It hurt for someone to just hold his hand.
I had to see him so I stopped in;
To tell him how much I thought of him.
I found him sleeping when I arrived;
And quietly sat in a chair by his side.
He seemed to be out of pain at long last;
As I sat there my mind drifted off to the past.
I thought of him growing up as a boy;
This man who has brought us so much joy.
He’d joined the Marines and defended this nation;
He was part of the greatest generation.
And as a marine he lived his life;
“Semper fi” to God, country, and wife.
He lived in a time when a man held to his word:
And taking God out of anything just wasn’t heard.
A man of conviction, an anchor was he;
For his children and their families.
I thought of the fun that we had on vacations;
And the pride that I felt at his ordination.
A deacon, a wise man, my mentor, my friend;
With sage advice when my heart had to mend.
When he had no answers he’d say , “I don’t know;”
“Let’s both find out and together we’ll grow.”
It was this part of him I admired the most;
I was taught to be humble and never to boast.
These thoughts overwhelmed me, I started to cry;
“I’m not ready for this, I don’t want you to die.”
My sobbing awoke him from his sleep;
“Don’t cry for me, “he said, “please don’t weep.”
“Please don’t worry, it’ll be okay;”
“We’ll see each other again someday.”
I thought to myself, “I know that we will;”
“But you’re leaving a void that no one can fill.”
I thought, “This wasn’t how I meant it to be;”
“I want to console you but you comfort me.”
But that’s who he is, brave and strong to the end;
I’ll miss you my anchor, my mentor, my friend.
He helped me wipe the tears from my eyes;
We sat and talked, then said our goodbyes.
As I left I thought, “what will become of this nation;”
“When we lose the last of the greatest generation?”
Another Hero just in case anyone wants to be able to say they know what one looks like.
5 by 5.
I would call them principled, but hardly courageous or heroic.
There are heros, and there are heros. We know the difference.
Although Wayne didn’t serve, and actually avoided it anyway he possible could, the same can’t be said of Heston.
From Wikipedia;
“In 1944, Heston enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. He served for two years as a B-25 radio operator and gunner stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. “
Hero? Possibly not, but not one to ‘avoid’ serving his country.
Charlton Heston served in the pacific as a tail gunner on low level B-25 missions with the 5th AirForce.Came home after the war then and went to acting school.I would say he qualifies and I think you would too.
That is just beautiful.Thanks for posting it.
Charlton Heston served in the Army Air Force during WWII.
Damn Straight!
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