67 Years and I Missed It!

I felt bad for not blogging on Sunday. Sure, we were busy with a late trip home from Temple and the kids had to get baths and get in bed, and then I had a good bit of grad school to do and before I knew it I was in bed and quickly falling asleep as the clock slowly moved closer to midnight. And as I was falling into slumber I reminded myself of the day that had just passed and I realized that I Had Missed It!

The reminder came during communion that morning at Western Hills in Temple, when Eddie Lester stood to go lead the thoughts. He is only 5'4'' at best and as he walked up to the mic I thought to myself "I've never seen Eddie do this before", and then as he began to speak and it hit me. "I was in the Navy during World War II" he said, "and I recall the day that the Japanese bombed our ships in Hawaii." Pearl Harbor Day was here and I was sitting peacefully in a church exactly 67 years after so many young men died before even waking up that Sunday morning.   Amazing how time erases the tragedies of the past, but the event is still real for the veterans of World War II and their wives and families and loved ones and those that care to remember.

I was pleased that Western Hills went out the way to ask a veteran to speak that morning. It was kind the way he gently thanked the men and women of the Armed Forces from years past and of the present and how he thanked God for the place we get to live and the people that have worked to make it so great. I spoke to Farrar Keatch after church who is a Korean Veteran and a fan of my dad's. Farrar's brother was a Navy Corpsman who died in combat in World War II and Farrar then served in the Marine Corp during the Korean War. I thanked him for his service and he ignored me and immediately asked about my dad, whom we then talked about for the next 10 minutes. I spoke to Jim McKinney who spent a career in the Army after returning from Europe in 1946, and who just buried his wife Jo. I thanked him and told him how sorry I was for his loss and he shuffled away on his walker after our short talk. I sat on the same row with Nick and his young Rachel.   Nick is recently home from Iraq and has just been discharged from the Army. He sits there and listens to Eddie talk of wars gone by and he himself just lived through the most recent one. It was a special little moment to sit in the company of "heroes", as I call them to Blake and quietly honor their service and sacrifice for our country. Thank you again to those who have served, who are serving and to those who will in the future.