5 generations of service

on the road i get to meet some interesting people. some are forgetable, some i can't help but think about almost daily.

while in mobile, i spent 5 nights in the company of "henry". henry is a somewhat quiet guy who goes about his work unassumingly. late 50's, long, gray hair, a few "tats" and doesn't like talking about himself. he is fiercely loyal to his family and his wife of 37 years.

on the 2nd night, he opened up some and told me about his family. he is retired military and spent 24 years in the elite special forces. he told me his family serving in the military spans 5 generations for a total of 145 years!!! as i listened to him open up, he told me he had been wounded (shot) 3 times and had 3 purple hearts. he told me he had been shot in the shoulder requiring pins, screws and pretty much rebuilding his shoulder. he then told me about landing in a "hot LZ" and as soon as he hit the ground, he was shot in the upper inside thigh. he was concerned he had his "boys" blown off but the medic assured "all apparatus" was intact. the next time was in the knee requiring a total knee replacement. after he told me, i said "you qualify for Arlington". he said "yeah", but i want to be close to my family.

what really set me back was when he told me he had them in a storage container in the shed behind his house. i asked "why don't you have them in a display case". his answer was "because nobody cares". "most people don't care what me and many other people have done. i have had very few people outside family i can talk about it with. most people don't want to talk about it because it does not impact their day to day lives". i said, "but it does". he said he knew it did but then he got up to get back to his work.

it upsets me to think about his comments. my previous posts address how i appreciate our military and all they have and continue to do. but for a decorated vet with 3 purple hearts really got to me.

next week we celebrate july 4th. does anybody really know why? is it just another day off to go to the lake, cookout and get drunk? what are we celebrating? if this vet doesn't think anyone cares, why do we celebrate our freedoms if we can't show gratitude to the ones who helped us obtain and keep them?

until next time...