Kind of like passing the torch.
““Sit down, boys,” the former Kansas farm-boy humbly said, “I should be standing for you.” “
I like Ike.
Heartwarming story, especially on this Veterans Day.
One need not go back too far, as the story indicated, to get close to the origina of this country. In the Ken Burns mini-series on the Civil War, there is a scene from 1938 where some of the very few remaining survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg gathered at the site once more, to commemorate the 75th anniversary. Those guys were probably a minimum of 90 years old, most probably 92-95. My father was 5 at the time, and though he never met any of them, he COULD have - and those same vets COULD HAVE met a very old Revolutionary War vet.
Not too far a stretch to reach back 237 years. As much as this nation has accomplished, this puts into perspective how short a time in which it has been done - historically, it is the blink of an eye.
My heartfelt thanks to all of our vets for what they’ve done for this country while in uniform (and most for what they did after their direct service, though not all of them - yes, I’m talking to YOU, John McCain). Thanks also to their families - because waiting for news (or no news) about your loved one fighting thousands of miles away has got to be one of the most difficult burdens in life.
Assume the veteran in the photo is not Frank Kravetz, since he’s wearing a combat infantry badge and not aircrew wings.
I talked to the man who designed the Republic SeaBee (and the homebuilt Spencer AirCar) back in the 1970’s at Oskosh. He told me about his father, who designed the Spencer Carbine and showed it to Abraham Lincoln.
He looked really old, but I thought that he meant his grandfather, not father. Since the Internet came about, I found out that he really was the son (not grandson). Evidently, he was a very late surprise with a younger wife.
Awesome!
I worked with holocaust survivors for some time.
One survivor told me that when he speaks at us military installations he makes a point of saying he saw captured us airmen in the camps being treated worse than any of the Jewish prisoners.
He said he saw multiple us airmen buried up to their necks on the grounds. Germans would physically abuse the even in that state.
It broke my heart to hear it.
American holocaust survivors all refer to American military personnel as liberators. In our most poignant stories we have no idea what they have sacrificed for us.
My mother said her grandmother told them many stories of the Civil War. It is very interesting when people are touched by history and willing to pass it on.