As the wife of, daughter of, niece of and cousin of men who served in the military, I appreciate having a day set aside each year to recognize their service and the even greater sacrifices made by so many others.
In six years of writing my Sun column, I’ve taken the opportunity to highlight the holiday several times. Among the most memorable (to me) were last year’s column about deserving Fairview Village vets who were whisked to Washington, D.C., for a whirlwind tour compliments of the Honor Flight Chicago organization and an account of the funeral procession of Marine Sgt. Thomas Gilbert, who died in Iraq during a second tour of duty.
My family’s soldiers and warriors stopped short of paying that ultimate price. My dad was drafted in 1945 after graduating from high school. The war was over by then and his main memory of the service was gaining so much weight on Navy rations that his mother didn’t recognize him.
My husband’s father saw real battle in WWII, crossing the Moselle River in 1944 under heavy fire. My uncle spent years cris-crossing the globe on the Allen M. Sumner during the Korean War, but his stories sound more like adventure than war. My cousin, however, lost the use of one arm after being shot in Viet Nam.
I thought of Anthony during a visit last summer to the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. It was early evening when we walking down the incline, read the rows of names on polished black granite and noted the small remembrances left along the span.
It was a moving experience, as was our day spent at the Gettysburg battlefield and cemetery. Even from the remove of nearly 150 years, I was shocked by the loss of so many lives and could only wonder at the courage it takes to go off to war — or to watch your child go off to war.
As the mother of a son, who at 17 is the age of so many soldiers who fought and died for this country, I can’t help but be afraid. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, Iran and Korea threaten to eventually erupt, and I wonder how long it will be before there is a draft – or a war that is so big and so galvanizing in its cause that it will draw in his generation as so many before them.
And I also can’t help but wonder: Would they be brave?
The Blackhawks honored our vets at the game yesturday. They wore fatigue colored warm up jerseys to auction off for the USO. The also had a ceremony were a bronze star was awarded to an IL service person! Nice job Blackhawks!! We should thanks our vets everyday for what they do for our country.