Memorial Day 2013 - Please Remember

An older gentleman came into our office and wanted to share a story and a couple of pictures. We listened to him tell of how his buddy was shot in Korea. They were walking with our national flag in a procession and the man carrying the flag just a few feet from him was shot by sniper fire that went through his chest and out his kidney area. He twirled around 3 times waiting for someone to take the flag before he dropped. He did not want the flag to touch the ground. His buddies rushed to his side and applied bandages and pressure (3 fully soaked in all) to his wounds until the emergency helicopter arrived. He showed us 2 worn black and white photos of the men around him and the helicopter. I asked if the man lived and he said "yes". I asked why didn't the sniper keep shooting and if they were afraid they would get shot? He said that snipers usually shot once and fled. They never knew when a sniper would shoot. They did not think about getting shot, but only of saving their friend. Then he said that it was a terrible shame that we work on Memorial Day.  The gentleman was afraid that we will forget to honor our fallen heroes and really understand what a sacrifice they made for us. He is afraid our generation and generations to come may forget and in a way he felt responsible.  He was making it his duty to make sure we did not forget all servicemen that have fought and fallen for our freedom.  I do not know who this man is but he made his point.  Every Memorial Day, I will think of him and his buddy that got shot. I will see his face with so much anguish and determination and know how important this day is!  I had never really heard any war stories from personal relatives or friends. Thank you for coming by this Memorial Day and reminding us of the significance and ultimate sacrifice paid for our freedom!

 

 

 

National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX in May 2013

 

One Day of Many

There is a 2-1/2 mile trail along Lanana Creek that winds through Nacogdoches where citizens and students walk, jog, and ride bikes.  It is shaded by a canopy of trees and plant life with boardwalks and dirt trails.  Today, there were beautiful purple flowers and large clover covering the ground.  I only walked a half mile and did not see the entire trail, but it was enough to inspire my writing and photography ambitions for a short time.  I noticed a tree with holes around the trunk and wondered if birds had made those.  When I touched it, I disturbed a few gnats that flew around my hands before lighting back on the trunk.  A wicked looking wasp buzzed around further up the trunk.  I heard machinery ahead and thought that it sounded like a hundred busy beehives, but it was only mowers cutting the grass and sprucing up the old cemetery at Park Street.  I turned around to walk back.  I was not really alone.  Every once in a while a jogger would pass.  A man came out of the woods ahead of me and started running to catch up to his friend who I had already passed on the trail.  I surprised a cardinal in the bush and watched as he hopped from branch to branch.  As I am leaving the trail a young man and little boy pass by.  The little boy waves and he smiles.  I waved back. How momentarily pleasant!