As we walked around the cemetery last Saturday, and saw all the tiny American flags sticking up from the ground around the graves of those who fought in past wars, I wondered about the stories of all those we’ll never know anything about. Only their surviving family members can provide details to the lives lost, and sacrificed for our freedom.
We read and hear of those whose sacrifice and heroic efforts changed the course of history for our country, but there are thousands more stories we’ll never know, or the men and women who fought bravely for our country on our shores, off the shores and outside our borders. It is often only the grave marker, or sadly for some a name on a KIA (killed in action), or MIA (missing in action) list filed on records and documents in the archives of history.
The picture above is just one I took at random of a World War II soldier’s grave while we were there to view the gravesite of my parents buried nearby. I had been trying out a new cell phone camera so did not get a very good image of this soldier’s grave, but it is not the image that I cared so much about, but what he had done and his contributing effort to the cause of freedom and democracy for our country.
If you are in the military, a veteran of the U.S. armed services, or even in the military of another country or army your service does not go unnoticed, but is forever appreciated to all those whom you fought to protect, and the country you served.
Thank you for your service, and God bless you on this Memorial Day.
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Joyce E. Johnson (2016)
Reflections 