The other day I was walking around a cemetery, because that's what all of the cool kids are doing, and I stumbled upon the grave of a World War II veteran. I immediately thought of the last time I was at the optometrist, I was listening to an older man inform an elderly lady of a story about back in the day. You see, this man had grown up on a farm which him and his brother had both worked on.
Neither of the two men had been drafted, but they had both chosen to serve. The older man (Bill) had missed the draft by two months, but he enlisted because all of his friends had. Half of the young men in his town had gotten drafted.
Bill's father had had the option of saving Bill's brother, but the bother refused to allow his father to do so. He believed that it was his duty to serve his country. That statement alone made me think about this country and how it used to be. It's sad to think that not too far from now, the greatest and the most selfless generation of Americans that we will ever see will be nothing but a fond memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment