The Remembrance of Heroes

The Old Man has a collection of heroes. Some are pretty obvious, the others are unaware of their status. In the spirit of this weekend of honoring and remembering those who have given their lives to preserve our freedom, I want to share something that came to me this week. I don't usually include in my posts material from outside sources, but this one is special. Special for a couple of reasons. First, it is a touching account that honors those whose names we may never know....whose deeds go unheralded. And second, because it was sent to me from one of my veteran heroes. A. J. Sartin spent his time in Vietnam as an Aviation Medic-Helicopter, patching up and caring for those who had fallen. Injured there, he proudly carries the designation, "Service Connected Disabled American Veteran". I've known A. J. for a long time, but had been out of touch for a lifetime of career and separate pathways. Lately, I've come to learn more about his service and discover that we share a deep patriotism. By the way, he'd love to see you stop by his website, http://www.floridadude.com/. Give it a try...you'll enjoy a bit of humor, and enjoy a lot of fun, mostly about the "Florida lifestyle".

So now, enjoy and be touched by this account (coincidentally titled The Old Man)

The Old Man...

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away. I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turned back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, " You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot. I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay.

I had seen enough, and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, “Looks like you're having a problem.” He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back.

I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him. The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us, he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?" He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbyes to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket that looked exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off. For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in gold leaf and under his name.......'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.' I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help.

He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave us FREEDOM for America. Thanks to those who served....& those who supported them.

America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the Mall. Remember, Freedom isn't "Free" -- thousands have paid the price so we can enjoy what we have today.