Welcome to my blog, or should I say to the ramblings of an old man. I doubt that my ramblings are of much value, but at least I have an opportunity to share them.  So, please be kind and humor me. If nothing else of value stands out in these thoughts, I hope that you at least sense the value I place on a daily walk with the Lord.  That walk is what has provided me with motivation and a sense of purpose throughout my lifetime.  My prayer is that you, too, are experiencing this direction and joy in daily living which is available to everyone who puts his trust in Christ.  So, thanks again for joining me.  Please don't go without leaving some comments here so I can get to know you better as our paths intersect today in this blog.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Day Of Infamy

December 7, 1941. I was eight months old, so I don't remember the "day of infamy". All that I remember are the blackouts that came several years later and then I also remember my dad taking me downtown in Wilmington to watch the celebration when the great war ended. As the years pass, there are fewer people who actually remember that day. But, hopefully, we will never forget what happened. Hopefully we will never forget the 400,000 who died to protect our nation and the freedoms which we so often take for granted today. Most of us do recall 9-11 when we were again attacked. And today brave men and women are again engaged in fierce battles to protect our freedoms. Many are making the ultimate sacrifice for their country as an older generation did nearly seventy years ago. Recently I have learned much about World War II and I've learned that many veterans of that conflict have not ever talked about their experiences because of the deep scars in their memory. Two years ago we were with my Uncle John on D-Day when he opened up and shared details of his experiences during D-Day. He told me how he quoted "The Charge of the Light Brigade" as the men prepared to storm the beach. He told me of the many men, his friends, who died that day. When we visited with him again in August, he again shared with me many stories and pictures as he paged through a large book which recorded the events of the invasion and the days that followed. As my aunt listened, she heard things that he had never shared with anybody before. It was a touching experience. In November we directed a hymn sing at Pinebrook which honored all veterans, but especially those of World War II. Our speaker was Robert Kauffman (no relation) from Emmaus who had just authored a book which shared his experiences in France following the invasion. As I later read his book, I was overwhelmed with the hardships and dangers that these young men faced. Incredible! Following the hymn sing, a number of the veterans also shared some of their stories. For some of them it was the first time that they had ever shared these with anyone. As with my uncle, I felt honored to hear these stories from real patriots. Robert Kauffman ends his book with a moving story about a visit he recently made to a cemetery in Normandy. "I knew that there were 9,000 young Americans buried there, but I was shocked ... that there were 38 sets of brothers buried there and there are 33 sets of brothers buried side by side ... It seemed that each wave as it moved toward the shore still carried with it all of the horror and all the terror of the last few moments of that young man's life and each wave had the sound of a bell tolling out another and another and another of his unlived years. And each succeeding wave carried the painful reminder that the young man buried up there on the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, unlike me, would never know the fathomless pride of fathering a precious son or daughter. ... and, unlike me, he would never know the profound experience of holding and hugging and kissing a beloved grandson or granddaughter ... and the relenting sound of those waves is God's eternal reminder of the enormity of the price that was paid for our freedom and for my freedom and privilege to stand here. But then I wondered, what more could I say ... to those who suffered such terrible loss, except to repeat to them the words of an anthem for which those young men died:
"Oh beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife,
who more than self their country loved,
and mercy more than life.
America, America, God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
from sea to shining sea."

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