I was going to do a special post for Memorial Day but never got to it. Then I was shooting for Flag Day and never got to it. So, I'm doing it now. I think that we all have a patriotic feeling from Memorial Day right through July 4rth. Of course we should all year, but I think this time of year really stands out. Anyway, I have a dear friend who served in combat in Vietnam. I sent him an email about Memorial Day and he sent me back the following email sharing a very solemn experience. I think what he has to say says it all about war and what our troops give up so we can be free. My friend did not want me to use his name except for the letter T. Here's to you, T, and all of our troops who have served in times past and present......
To share a nugget of experience which I seldom do on this subject...
For a time, my unit was at Tan San Nhut Air Base in Saigon to re-organize. We were delegated to sleep right next to the flight line. Each night at 11 p.m., a fleet of large, low-bed, open trucks would arrive and park in the row of aircraft standing by to deliver the scores of that day's casualties home. The scene was etching as the moonlight reflected off the coffins, too many to count - predictable, night after night after night. Each was transferred to an aircraft with utmost reverence, each soldier receiving the respect of patience and time as each coffin was handled ceremoniously by comrades who worked through the night to avoid the revealing daylight image that would demoralize our own and cheer the enemy. At first, I would watch for a time, somehow compelled to face the reality of my own presence. Later, I only waited to hear the trucks arrive before falling asleep playing the nearby scene in my mind. It was every bit as stirring as it sounds, and I shall always remember it as if it was yesterday.
Wow, very moving.
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