{"id":2794,"date":"2015-05-24T23:34:49","date_gmt":"2015-05-25T09:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=2794"},"modified":"2015-05-24T23:34:49","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T09:34:49","slug":"memorial-day-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=2794","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a long time ago in a place far away.<\/p>\n

There were no windows in the plane so we waited for the ramp to drop.<\/p>\n

As it slowly opened the bright light made each of us to turn away for a minute.<\/p>\n

As we looked up we were met with the biggest airbase any of us had ever seen.<\/p>\n

Planes were parked everywhere and vehicles of every sort scurried among them.<\/p>\n

\"vietnam-sized\"<\/a>We gathered our gear as the cargo plane rumbled to a stop somewhere in the middle of all this chaos.<\/p>\n

As the ramp touched the asphalt we were assaulted with heat and humidity that one imagined only could exist in Hell.<\/p>\n

And here.<\/p>\n

Welcome to war.<\/p>\n

Please wait over here.
\nSomeone will be with you shortly.<\/p>\n

We looked at each other and each of us were thinking the same thing.
\nShit.<\/p>\n

The moment we stepped off the back of that plane trucks started pulling up to the ramp.<\/p>\n

As we waited for someone – anyone – to tell us what to do or where to go we watched quietly.<\/p>\n

Out of the trucks and into the plane moved dozens and dozens of caskets.
\nEach draped in an American flag.<\/p>\n

Slid into the belly of that plane and strapped down for the final trip home.<\/p>\n

It was well choreographed like it happened all the time.
\nWe got off – they moved on.<\/p>\n

Some with reverence and respect.
\nToo many with a business-like attitude of just another box.<\/p>\n

With many more to come.<\/p>\n

Metal boxes\u00a0containing someone’s brother, son, husband, best friend.<\/p>\n

Caskets of dreams unfulfilled, hearts broken and lives snuffed too early.<\/p>\n

A chaplain says some words and the plane begins to move.<\/p>\n

Another plane will take its place later to do the same thing.<\/p>\n

It could have been Da Nang, South Vietnam, or Kandahar, Afghanistan or Balad, Iraq.<\/p>\n

It’s all really the same.<\/p>\n

\"soldier-sized\"<\/a>We must never forget there are people who go in harm’s way to protect you and your way of life.<\/p>\n

People who believe, whether you do or not, that what they do is meaningful and important.<\/p>\n

There are those who willingly put their lives on the line so you may enjoy the benefits of our nation.<\/p>\n

If you find that statement ridiculous, then spend a moment reflecting on what our country, and your life, may look like if they did not exist.<\/p>\n

It’s Memorial Day.<\/p>\n

Don’t thank someone for their service.
\nIt’s not their day.<\/p>\n

Quietly thank those you gave their life for you.<\/p>\n

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