Before 9-11....
Before the Kennedy assassination ...
Everyone remembered where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941.
At times I think about those young men and women that gave the last full measure of their devotion at Pearl and in the resulting battles of WWII. Many of them were kids.
Laying down one's life, seems like an act that we would more expect from a person of maturity. These were kids - they went down and enlisted after hearing about the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.
When I was eighteen, I was making important decisions like whether to go to Wendy's or McDonald's for dinner.
These kids had the sobriety and courage to make decisions that -for some- would mean they would never return home.
I am humbled each time I remember their sacrifice.
It saddens me to think about what they missed.
But, when my mind travels down those avenues, I tend to end up remembering that we were all created as eternal beings. This lifetime is just like a pre-game show. The BIG DEAL is what comes after this life.
Those who gave their lives are still alive ... somewhere.
Now, in this jaded 21st century there are still young men and women with the same patriotic devotion. Many have already made the supreme sacrifice... others are risking it everyday.
All for people they don't even know.
That is amazing; and it is even more remarkable when you consider that their predecessors that signed up after the Pearl Harbor attack, were already tempered by the Great Depression. They knew harshness and privation.
Most of these patriots (I dare not call them kids) today, have not known the want of that former generation; which makes their offering that much more honorable.
So today we remember. . . and are grateful.
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