Remembering Those Who Served

Written by: Alison Stanton on May 31, 2004 10:00 PM EDT

Earlier this morning I asked you to tell your stories about those who have served their country. The following are stories from your community.

Only after my Grandfathers death did I hear the stories of what he had seen in WWII. My other Grandfather never talked of the war. I have a friend that served in Vietnam, and he still has nightmares that he is over there.

Those serving now will live with the horrors of war for the rest of their lives. I may not agree with the cause, but I honor them, and wish them strength. To those that have given their lives in the line of duty, I will pause to remember them today. Right now we are losing an average of 2 soldiers a day in Iraq, and that is 2 a day too many.

My heart goes out to the families of those that have fallen throughout the history of this country.
-Katie Thomson

My uncle was a POW in Germany in World War II. He was shot down over France and turned in to the Gestapo. He almost never talks about it, but when pressed, has only said that neither the prisoners nor the guards had much to eat, mostly cabbage. He also once said that they would often automatically kill British pilots shot down, but not Americans. I would guess our days of positive preferential treatment for American prisoners are over. My uncle lost a kidney and froze some toes, but has been in good health until very recently, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. All prayers for recovery would be appreciated.
-JayDean

My father was a jet fighter pilot in the Korean War. He was gone for months at a time on Naval Aircraft Carriers, and I missed him a lot as a little girl. I experienced the surreal existence of him being gone and waiting with great hope for him to come back. My brother, Bob, was a Navy Sea Bee in the Viet Nam War. It changed his life forever. The spring before he died, he told me a story about something that happened years ago. The emotion was so powerful. He was reliving it still. As the 21st century and the new millennium began, I was hopeful that more and more of us would become involved with concerns for humanity as a result of the stories and experiences we had heard from our loved ones who came back from wars in the 20th century. I was so sure that the higher values of understanding, kindness, compassion and caring would become the hallmarks of what we had learned...and I proudly thought that the sacrifices of my dad and brother had paved the way for other wives like my mother and other children...like in my family...to be free of the pain and suffering of war. And, on this Memorial Day...I Still Hope For That!
-Patty Ann Smith

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