Yesterday my son came to me and said he wanted to do something special for Memorial day. So I asked him what he wanted to do. He said to me let's go to the VA hospital and visit some of the vets there. As we walked through the doors there was an older guy and gal talking. After a few minutes he asked the man if he was a vet. The man replied Yes I am. I was in Pearl Harbor the day the Japs bombed us. He went on to say that was the best and worst day of his life. The worst because of all the devastation and friends killed and the best because it was also the day he met his wife. That wonderful lady sitting next to him They have been married 67 years. For 3 hours that sailor told him about Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor and Midway. No better history lesson could ever be taught than by the people who were there. Now you ask why is this special? This morning at 3am Master Chief Petty officer Johnathon Sullivan passed away in his sleep. he fought in 3 major wars and spent an afternoon with a 16 year old boy and his dad on Memorial day talking about why this day was so special. Oh yeah he had 3 ships shot out from under him. Uss West virgina (Pearl Harbor), USS Yorktown (Midway) and USS Princeton (Leyte Gulf)
You may not know me the first time we meet, I’m just another you see on the street. But I am the reason you walk and breathe free. I am the reason for your liberty, I am a veteran. I work in the local factory all day, I own the restaurant just down the way, I sell your insurance… I start your IV, I’ve got the best looking grandkids you’ll ever see. I’m your grocer, your banker, your child’s schoolteacher. I’m your plumber, your barber, your family’s preacher. But there’s part of me you don’t know very well. Just listen a moment, I’ve a story to tell. I am a veteran. I joined the service while still in my teens, I traded my prom dress for camouflage greens. I’m the first in my family to do something like this. I followed my father like he followed his. Defying my fears and hiding my doubt, I married my sweetheart before I shipped out. I missed Christmas, then Easter. The birth of my son. But I knew I was doing what had to be done. I served on the battle front, I served on the base. I bound up the wounded and begged for God’s grace, I gave orders to fire, I followed commands, I marched into conflict in far distant lands. In the jungle, the desert, on mountains and shores, In bunkers, in tents, on dank earthen floors. While I fought on the ground, in the air, on the sea, My family and friends were home praying for me. For the land of the free and the home of the brave, I faced my demons in foxholes and caves. Then one dreaded day, without drummer or fife, I lost an arm, my buddy lost his life. I came home and moved on, but forever was changed. The perils of war in my memory remain. I don’t really say much. I don’t feel like I can, But I left home a child, And came home a man. There are thousands like me, Thousands more who are gone, But their legacy lives as time marches on. White crosses in rows, And names carved in cue, Remind us of what these brave souls had to do. I’m part of a fellowship, A strong mighty band, Of each man and each woman, Who has served this great land. And when old glory waves, I stand proud, I stand tall, I helped keep her flying over you, over all, I am a veteran. By Andrea C. Brett |
ok check this out, A reservist/Guardsmen with over 20 years and 3 deployments to Iraq/Stan and under 60 if they retire and want medical they will have to pay over $900.00/mo for coverage until they reach age 60. the only other option is the VA where they wait for 6 months to see a doc that is so over worked the quality of care can be horrid. Did you know that our President and the former congress would not pass this bill if the retiree did not should ALL the cost? no contribution from the country that called them. Now service connected disabilities after you fight like hell to get them will always be covered by the VA. This angers me to no end.
Michael Marks
A SOLDIER’S CHRISTMASThe embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,Transforming the yard to a winter delight;The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,Secure and surrounded by love I would sleepIn perfect contentment, or so it would seem.So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,And I crept to the door just to see who was near.Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,A lone figure stood; his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years oldPerhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
“What are you doing?” I asked without fear“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,To the window that danced with a warm fire’s lightThen he sighed and he said, “It’s really all right,I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the lineThat separates you from the darkest of times.No one had to ask or beg or implore me,I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘NamAnd now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,The red white and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,Away from my family, my house and my home,I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,I can carry the weight of killing anotherOr lay down my life with my sisters and brothersWho stand at the front against any and all,To insure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no frightYour family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,For being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,“Just tell us you love us, and never forgetTo fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone;To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,To know you remember we fought and we bledIs payment enough, and with that we will trust.That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”
©Copyright December 7, 2000 by Michael Mark