This Memorial Day My thoughts travel to the military Cemeteries That I have visited. Like the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, The Punch Bowl in Hawaii and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D. C. They all bring my mind to think about how they lost their lives. I have been with some of them, yet to my mind I have been with all of them. They did not die peacefully in their sleep at home or in a clean hospital bed with loved ones by their sides
I see them being ripped apart by artillery shells. I see them being shot as they walked next to me in the jungle or buildings. I see them as they grasp for the last breath as their ship fills with seawater. I see them as they dive out of control toward earth in their fighters Etc. I see them being stabbed by a bayonet in hand-to-hand combat. I see them stepping on a land mine right in front of me as they fly in the air and then dieing in my arms as I try to comfort them as we waited for the chopper. I see them die after being bitten by a deadly snake put there as they crawl in tunnels. I see them dieing in the mud of rice patties. I see them freezing to death, as they lay wounded.
Everyone who has been in combat can still see those kinds of deaths in their dreams. I share this with you not to gross you out, but to help you feel and know what War is like. It is not cut and dry as in movies or in print. I hope you never have to experience what Combat Veterans have seen. This Memorial Day keep in mind what I have shared with you. Those Veterans were just like you and me. They started out just like us, but they were called to do the extra ordinary and they did it for us! God Bless American and God Bless our Veterans.
Chaplain Howard Flexer
Vietnam War Veterans
Flagstaff & Memorial
May 29.2006
