LAST EDITED ON 11-23-08 AT 10:00 PM (EST)Moma received a copy of this in the mail yesterday. Seems none of us (my family) read the newspaper carefully (I don't get the paper myself). This is written by a local columnist about my Daddy.
(edited here to remove the link - it revealed too much - so I copied the article and pasted it here)
Old warriors from the Greatest Generation -- many still full of energy -- have an inspiring sense of duty and obligation
By Rusty Fowler
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
It has been said that a sign of our aging is when we begin reading obituaries. It must be true, as I scan them every day -- but not all of them, only the veterans whose death notices are indicated by the American flag.
In particular I am drawn to read about the passing of veterans in their late 70s and 80s, as these are without question the remaining old warriors from the Greatest Generation. For me it is something like an unspoken duty to read about their lives and what they accomplished despite being robbed of their youth in a hell that few of us can imagine.
About three weeks ago, on Oct. 21, I recognized the picture of one of those old warriors, who went by the name of Red M_____ from ______ in ____ Tennessee. I talked with him once a year for the past several years when I went to _______ to buy firewood. He sold the best firewood, and even as late as the fall of 2007 he would help me load it. He must have been about 85 at the time.
It wasn't necessary to go all the way to ________ to get my firewood, but over the years I had developed a great deal of respect for this gentleman and enjoyed our conversations and his amiable personality.
Mr. M_____ would talk your ear off while he helped you load. Some years our conversation would get into the subject of World War II. I think he saw some of the worst of it, but he discussed it in a matter-of-fact way with no complaint and no claim of credit due for his sacrifice. One year I took my father-in-law (also a World War II veteran) with me to get wood. That year Mr. M_____ did not help me; neither did my father-in-law. They talked while I worked. They talked about the war and where they were and things they remembered. I wish I could have captured that day on video or audio tape.
Last month, like the years before, I called Mrs. M____ to tell her I was coming to get some wood. She told me Mr. M_____ was in the hospital but someone would be at the house. I had the pleasure of meeting his daughter and she told me about her father's illness. My wife and I loaded our wood -- still the best you could buy, split and neatly stacked like Mr. M_____ always did it.
Seeing the obituary for Mr. M_____ -- whose given name, I learned, was _____ M_____, and who had received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his military service -- a couple of weeks later moved me to write this piece.
These old soldiers, once young and brave, are passing away from us rapidly. Their spirit and strong sense of duty and obligation are uplifting reminders to me, and I hope to you, regarding our strength as a people and our ability to endure and eventually overcome the worst adversity for the sake of our liberty and freedom.
Today, on Veterans Day, I hope you will join me in remembering the debt we all owe to the spirit of Mr. M_____ and all his comrades in arms, past and present.
I remember talking with him & his wife when they came out & Daddy was in the hospital. I didn't know tho that he wrote for the paper.
This is just one of the good memories; I wanted to share it with ya'll.
(It's been a month ad 4 days. )
Sharnina Special
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