Cherish Freedom

It is my prayer to NEVER forget the sacrifices of our men and women who have fought and even given their lives for our freedoms.

On this Veteran’s Day I wanted to share with you, some of  the war monuments we visited in

 Washington DC, last spring.

The first war I can even remember was the
 Viet Nam War.

I remember the feelings of my parents, older siblings when they had friends who were drafted into service. The worry and then the grief, when some of them didn’t get to come home.

The first time I visited the Viet Nam Memorial, a sweet white haired lady was grieving for her son, as she scribbled over his name on a piece of paper with a pencil. He husband helped her up and they slowly walked away arm in arm.

I will never forget that moment.  I too felt a lump rise in my throat and felt the pain of this mother who had lost her son so long ago.  Nor will I forget,  realizing that each of these thousand of names represent sons, husbands, brothers and fathers who never got to go back home to loved ones... I felt over whelmed and humbled. They died for me and my family and yours to enjoy the freedoms we do...

 

Even the children felt the reverence as people quietly passed the names of those being honored...

The personal notes

flowers and pictures of these sons and husbands

and fathers line the bottom of the wall.

 Mr B found the name of his friend, who had gone to our high school.

This is the Korean War Memorial

The emotions etched forever on these soldiers faces tell their story of fear, honor and commitment. Our men and women are still fighting to keep us safe in lands far away. We honor you and your families!

 Please remember them and their families in your prayers.

Then the War that forever left an imprint on our family ~ both Mr B's and mine, was World War II.

World War 2 Memorial

Our dads both left their sweethearts behind, when they went to war. They are my own personal heros!

My mom and dad
My Dad was only 19 when he served under General Patton. He was a private 1st class in battery B 869th infantry Division, in Patton’s third army. Dad saw some of the worst atrocities of the war. He never spoke of his war experiences to us. Mainly because he couldn’t! He was among some of the first to liberate the Jews from Auschwitz...

I found out when I read his obituary, he had been awarded a purple heart for being shot twice.  I had never known!!! After his death, I scoured through letters he had written to my mom and grandma, just to know him and understand dad a bit better.  He suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, although no one even knew what it was back then. I have read books and visited holocaust museums, trying to understand what he went through. I have come to understand why he shut that part of his life away from us.

Even  recently, I learned  he helped President Ezra Taft Benson, then the Secretary of State, deliver and distribute relief supplies to many Europeans following the war.

Mr B's parents

My Father in Law served aboard the Appleton Victory as a gunner in the Pacific. He is being honored today, along with his fellow veteran’s. They have his original Navy uniform on a mannequin, and pictures of all the veterans who live in his Senior Living Community.

To end this rather somber, yet grateful Outdoor Post, I want to share a poem my FIL wrote to my Mother in Law while aboard his ship. He is quite the poet and shares his thoughts through poems often.

This one will be read at their Veteran's Day celebration.

G.I.

Sitting upon my G.I. bed

My G.I. hat on my head,

My G.I. pants my G.I. shoes.

Everything free, nothing to lose.

G.I. razor, G.I. Comb,

G.I. wish I were home.

They issue everything I need,

Paper to write on, books to read.

They issue food to make me grow.

G.I. want a long furlough.

G.I. this and G.I. that,

G.I. haircut, G.I. hat.

Everything is G.I. issue

All but you my dear, G.I. miss you.

:-)  I thought this one was very sweet.

I am and will always be forever grateful to each of our soldiers, including our own dads,  for their sacrifices.   Both, those who were able to return home and to those who were not.

 A very heartfelt Thank You on this Veterans Day!

 Cherish Freedom, It is not free!

Please visit our gracious hostess Susan, at a Southern Daydreamer  to visit more outdoor posts today!
I always enjoy the Wednesday posts and seeing more of our beautiful world and visiting with good friends.

~♥