"I Am This Way Because..."

My Daddy is a disabled vet from the Korean War. You have no idea how proud I am of him. He is my hero and always will be. My dad's kneecap was blown off by an artillery shell. His left leg is three inches shorter than his right. He has to wear a special made shoe and walks with a pronounced limp. His doctors inserted a steel rod that runs from his hip almost all the way to his ankle. He has scars on his stomach, his backside, and right leg where the doctors pieced together his left leg so they wouldn't have to amputate it. He spent almost two years in the hospital from this. He also has a a small piece of shrapnel that floats around his body that they cannot removed.

I have told this story before, but as we commemorate Veteran's Day, I am quickly reminded of it. Several years ago, my little brother, who was about twelve tears old, somehow had gotten a hold of a small American flag. You know the kind, it's glued to a round wooden stick. As any young boy, he ran around the house waving that flag and making it pop. When he was done with it, he just dropped it on the ground. My dad saw him do this and told to pick it up. My brother, not knowing the significance of his actions, asked the questions, "Why? What's the big deal?" I saw the anger build up inside of him and answer with tears in his eyes and a quivering voice, "I am this way, because of that flag!" As he answered, he pointed to his lower torso.

All my life I have been taught to respect that flag, but that day I fully comprehended the sacrifice my dad alongside millions have endured for this great country we call the United States of America.

We are fortunate to have been born in a democracy and we owe it all to those who were willing to serve in our armed forces. For that, we say, "Thank You!"

(In closing, if the picture at the heading doesn't move you and speak volumes, then you'd better check and see if you even have a heartbeat. )

Blessings!

The Forgotten War

A few weeks ago my wife and I went on a week long vacation to Washington, D.C. Neither one of us had ever been and it has been a destination point for the two of us for about five years. We scheduled the trip back in July and looked forward to the trip. The places I wanted to go were: Arlington Cemetery, Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, Viet Nam Memorial, the Capitol Building, Library of Congress, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Memorial, in that order.

Because my dad is a disabled vet from the Korean War, I couldn’t wait to see the Tombs of the Unknowns at Arlington and the Korean War Memorial. I had seen a couple of pictures of the Korean War Memorial, but nothing prepared me for the huge wave of emotions that would hit me when I entered the Memorial. As we got closer, I could see the light gray statues of soldiers posed as if they were walking thru a rice patty. They were like frozen in time. When I got to the front of the memorial and took it all in, I couldn’t help but burst into tears. It was like I was taken back to 1951 and I got a glimpse of what my father had experienced. I walked around to look at each soldier and studied his face. As I went from soldier to soldier, I looked for the one without a rifle. As a medic, my dad carried no weapon. When I came upon the one with no gun, but just a bag, I again started to cry. I told my wife, “That’s him. That’s my Dad.” I have always been proud of my dad and his sacrifice for this great nation, and at that moment my heart just swelled.

Engraved in front of the soldiers is a quote that says, “OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET.” Then the place that also got to me was on the edge of the reflection pool. There was an inscription with the number of wounded and the number killed. It said, “DEAD- USA: 54,246 UN: 628,833; WOUNDED- USA: 103,284 UN: 1,064,453.”

My father was one of those 103,284 and only by the grace of God was he not one of the 54,246. I am thankful the Lord spared him so that he could come to San Antonio, Texas and meet Estefana Trejo, fall in love, get married, and have two handsome sons. (At least one is handsome, I’ll let you decide which one.)

Many people speak about World War II, Viet Nam, and The Gulf War; and they should. But they omit the Korean War. Not this man. I am here because of the Forgotten War.

Thank you Veterans for your sacrifice. Blessings!