|
By Sam Huhn, Director of District 3
I had the privilege of spending Memorial Day weekend
in the Nation’s Capital this year. The occasion was the dedication
of the World War II Memorial and the honoring of the marvelous
individuals who comprise the greatest generation.
With my attendance at these historic events came
an opportunity to reflect on what so many of these courageous
men and women gave to our country.
I attended both the indoor musical program and the
dedication of the Memorial itself. Some old guys came up to me
at the dedication and asked if I was at either Guam or Guadalcanal.
I laughed and asked them if I looked that old. My wife got an
even bigger laugh from the question than I did. I told the old
veterans that I had come to honor them, and my uncle, and my father-in-law,
and my wife’s uncle who died in the war.
One guy cried as he told me he had made it through
the ravages of World War II and then lost his son in Vietnam.
I didn’t get close enough to the stage to see
Luther Smith, but I did see him on the big screen. Luther was
one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, one of the Memorial commissioners,
and a former co-worker of mine. The Memorial is so impressive,
and it brought back so many memories of my youth—the kids
I knew whose fathers were at war in the 1940s. I thought of how
they lived with grandparents until their fathers came home in
1945 as we were finishing second grade. I thought of those names
that had escaped me for almost 60 years.
I thought of our next-door neighbor’s son who
came home from the Marines. I remembered the doctor at the corner
of our street who finally opened a practice after his service.
Next came to mind a guy from down the street who was a German
POW and who finally came home, thin as a rail.
I remembered the long list at the back of our church
containing names of those who served and the stars that were placed
beside those who never returned. I thought about the new priest
in our parish who had just completed service as an Army and Navy
chaplain. Then I thought of the two kids in my class who lost
their fathers, and how Hitler and Tojo were hung in effigy from
a tree and set ablaze.
Funny how a little music, a little conversation,
a little history, and a beautiful Washington, DC memorial can
trigger so many thoughts of the past. Too bad we don’t all
take the time to remember just a little more often.
|
