A PATRIOT'S PASSING

He was born the youngest to immigrant parents at the onset of the Roaring ‘20s. In his teens he struggled through the depression years of the 30’s in a tough Ohio steel town. Playing hardnose high school football gave him the opportunity to attend a college he could never otherwise afford.

The day after Pearl Harbor he left college to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he served as a 1st Lt. and B-24 bomber pilot on combat missions from bases in North Africa. Returning to the States in ’43, he married his high school sweetheart, and served as a test pilot in the B-29 bomber program, based in New Mexico.

After the war, he completed his undergraduate and graduate education at Northwestern University and served as an elementary school teacher, at a time when a public education actually meant something.

He progressed into administration and served his far South Suburban Cook County community as School Superintendent for over 20 years. He also served as the Regional Superintendent for Special Education in South Suburban Cook County, Illinois during the 70’s.

He took an early retirement, disgusted by the increasing powers of Teacher’s Unions and the ever-growing dominance of federal government programs.

He loved God, and was the ultimate churchman: a charter member and Elder Emeritus in his congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

HE LOVED HIS COUNTRY! He was a devoted husband, a loving father, and the best friend a man could ever have.

I ask you not to grieve with me,
but to CELEBRATE the passing of a true PATRIOT!

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past,
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and, perhaps, a pension small.

It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

“OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY”

God bless you. I did not know that your mom had passed away. Merry Christmas to you and your family. My mom and dad both passed away in the summer of 1999. Sometimes I feel very vulnerable without them. Just knowing they are there, when they are alive, means so much. Dave

Thanks, Dave. It must be especially hard to lose both the same year. After Mom passed away, Dad was shattered of course, but he's doin' better now. Yes, the last half of my life I appreciated them more. Funny what time does, huh? Merry Christmas to you and your family, Dave! Richard

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