I Remember

They were young. Dreamers. Filled with energy and enthusiasm. They came from all over. Big cities and small towns. Some talked with a country twang and some talked with a northern accent. Some wore Dress clothes and others jeans and boots. They all showed up with one purpose. They became soldiers.

Weeks of getting up early, push ups, running, drills and lots of yelling followed. They were challenged mentally, emotionally, and physically. Some cried for home. Some bravely fought back the tears.  The weeks passed slowly. The training proved harder than can put down on paper. Sweat flowed. Muscles burned and ached.

Then boot camp ended. An even harder reality set in. These new soldiers, many only teenagers,  packed their gear. They loaded planes and ships to be transported to the war. Not just any war. The Second Great War. WWII. Some manned battleships and aircraft carriers. Some plunged the ocean depths in summaries. Some arrived at beach heads by boat. They stormed the beaches facing deadly gunfire as soon as they landing ramp lowered. Fear had to be pushed aside to press forward. Many fell that day. Some parachuted behind enemy lines.

A bloody seige followed. Soldiers died. Soldiers were wounded. Soldiers were maimed. The scars went deeper than flesh. The psyches were scarred as well. Still they had to fight for the cause of freedom. Soldiers lost friends. Troops lost their commanders and commanders lost many of their troops. Overnight wives became widows. Children lost parents. Parents lost children. They pressed forward. Over 37,000 ground forces were killed at D Day. Over 16,000 additional soldiers died in the Air Force. Today I remember.

Over 58,000 American military personnel died in the Vietnam war. If you count civilians over 2 million people died during that bloody conflict. There were also wars in Korea and Iraq in additional to the continuing war on terrorism.

And today America is supposed to remember. Memorial Day. What really happens is many Americans go to the lake, play golf, shop, grill, shop and go to the movies. Memorial Day has become the beginning of summer. A holiday. A day I choose to remember.

While I write this soldiers endure hardships. They patrol in harm's way continually. The fight fierce enemies bent on doing us harm. I do not take their sacrifice for granted. The freedoms my family enjoy were bought and defended with a steep price. Blood was spilt. Lives were sacrificed. Because of that I enjoy the freedom to write this blog. I worshipped with other believers yesterday. I taught and peached the Bible. I read it earlier today. I can travel across the country in freedom. My family prayerfully chose our careers. Those careers were not dictated to us by a government.

We have freedom but it did not come cheaply. Today I remember. Today I pause in  the middle of my lush comfortable life and I choose to remember. The freedom I enjoy came at the price of many men and women dying.

Recently my family ate breakfast at a little cafe. An elderly gentleman walked in with what looked like his adult daughter. Brenda noticed the cap he wore. The cap identified that man as a Pearl Harbor survivor. On my way out I stopped by his table. I took my cap off and thanked him for his service and all he did for our country. Thousands died at Peral Harbor. Over 2,000 died and more than 1,000 were wounded. A tragic day. A day that still lives in the minds of millions. There are not many real life survivors left. They are aging and dying off.

I wanted that man to know I do not take His service for granted. I wanted him to know I appreciate his service. Nearly every Sunday my family eats with a former military man who served on a submarine. I want my boys to hear about the service of military men and women. I recall a long ago departed man who served in the Navy. His ship got hit by a torpedo. He actually floated in the Pacific Ocean before getting rescued. I remember.

God could have let me be born anywhere. He chose to plant me in the home of the brave and the land of the free. I am grateful for it. While the United Sates is not a perfect country it is a place I love living. To all past, present and future soldiers; THANK YOU. Today I remember.