The Loud Talker

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. — George S. Patton

Soldiers are special people. They sacrifice much and receive little in the form of pay or thanks. While stateside they usually have to move their families all over the country at the whim of military decisions, many of which often seem illogical. Remember, we are still talking about our government. While overseas they perform their duties with skill and precision unmatched by any other nation’s military, and as a whole they provide one of the few shining examples of excellence that our government can actually claim credit for.

This is a day that we specifically honor our soldiers. The grilling, the car races, the beer and beach are all secondary to the reason Memorial Day was made a federal holiday in 1967. If you’ve never visited a war memorial, try to find time to do so. Try to plan a trip to Washington D.C. or any of our historic battlefields and monuments. America’s history will only remain intact if the masses proactively work to learn it, and learn from it.

Both of my grandfathers as well as my father-in-law served in WWII. My mother’s father was an infantryman in the Army and was in the Battle of the Bulge. He died while I was a young boy so I never got the chance to ask him about the war.

My father’s father served in the army in Europe and earned two purple hearts. He would talk about the war when I asked, I now wish that I had asked more often, since I learned that he wouldn’t talk about the war with any of his own children or his other grandchildren. He spoke fluent French, something that his officers were glad to take advantage of when they were in town trying to pick up the local ladies.

My father-in-law is 85, and I ask him about his service quite often. He was a Navy signalman on a troop transport ship (APA-99). He served in the Pacific and says that “dropping those two firecrackers on Japan” saved his life. Do some research on the invasion of Japan to see what he means.

My late father got lucky and had a high draft number that allowed him to stay home during Vietnam. However, that war still affected him greatly as he lost many dear friends. He was a gifted artist and used to send drawings of all sorts to his buddies, many of whom did not come home alive.

Most of us have friends that are currently serving our nation. If you can find time between hot dogs, why not take a few minutes and give a military friend a call if you can, or send them an email. Thank them for their service and ask them what you can do to help them. They work for us without our asking, I think it would be great if we could reach out and let them know that we support them.

Thank you to our armed forces at home and abroad!