Memorial Day came and went, and there were a lot of great posts around the blogosphere. I didn’t post anything, mainly because I didn’t think I could do more than, “me, too!” Also, I’ve been pretty fortunate, really. I can’t think of anyone in my immediate family who died in service.

In fact, I’m hard pressed to think of any of my relatives who served in combat. One of my grandfathers served in the Navy, stateside, during WWII, but the other did not, as far as I know, serve. My dad was too young for Korea, but too old for Viet Nam.

Today I got the family newsletter my sister put together. In it is a reprint of the obituary for my grandmother’s brother. He died on 13 January, 1945, “from wounds received in action on Luzon, Philippine islands.” He had been in the Army since 1942, and seen action on “the Russells, Tarawa, New Georgia, New Caledonia, Guadalcanal and other [islands].”

It’s hard enough to lose someone you know and love; I can’t imagine what it must be like when he’s on the other side of the world, and you haven’t seen him for 3 years. There’s just no way for me to understand that without experiencing it, and, God-willing, I’ll never have to. I don’t even know what to say to somebody who’s had that experience.

But to all of you who have…for what it’s worth, I wish that you may find some comfort and joy still in this world, and hope for a new one to come.

Posted in uncategorized on June 1st, 2004 by Thibodeaux | RSS 2.0 |