Last night, i wrote my post about Memorial Day.
Today after all of those nice words from me and about a gazillion others on every media option possible, i was recipient of a Facebook post that put it all in perspective for me.
Larry Wood relieved me in my last Navy tour. Larry had been a helicopter pilot of some renown. He and i had a cup of coffee at the Naval Amphibious School, Coronado. He now lives in Florida.
What he posted today brings into focus what this day is really all about. i confess when i saw the photo and read Larry’s comment, i had to catch my breath to keep control of myself.
Larry, i stole this off your Facebook page. Here it is:
Larry is the dark-haired guy on the left in Navy dress whites. The Navy has shoulder boards on dress whites. Marines do not. Here is Larry’s explanation of the photo:
This is the class I got my wings with in’69. All Marines and me. We all went to NAM! To my knowledge, I’m the only one who came back. RIP Marines!
i don’t think anything i might add could say more about the deepest meaning of Memorial Day.
Thanks, Larry, for giving me a better understanding of what Memorial Day is really about.
Wow! Thank you for sharing, Jim, and for serving. So many lives given for our country…do we thank people enough? I think not….what is required of each of us to protect this country? I seek to ‘serve’ America in my own small ways by raising questions, challenging complacency and struggling to determine appropriate actions when justice is not present. It is no where near what the men in this photo did but I hope small acts honor their lives and commitment.