Those Brave Souls

Image by Vladvictoria on Pixabay

On Remembrance Day we honor those who went into the hellish fray

Lives lost for the freedoms we enjoy today

The wounded in body, mind, and spirit

Those who through war and conflicts developed PTSD

People who lost limbs

Those with no arms

Those with no legs

Those with no arms and legs

How often do we think of the blessing of being free?

How much time do we give to reflect on these brave souls who saved us

from Hitler’s evil tyranny?

We must not let their sacrifice fade from our memory.

My grandfather lied about his age to join the infantry in World War 1

He was only 17 but said he was 18
Private First Class Sandford Dobson was he

He served Canada with gallantry
He received a medal from the township for duty nobly done

He didn’t talk much about the horrors he saw

But when I was older and could understand I learned more

about this fellow who taught me what it means to be a man

One day in a foxhole he was talking to one of his buddies
Suddenly, there was silence

No laughter
Not a word
He touched his friend

He had been killed with a bullet

Joking one moment

Dead the next

The horrible price of war

A friend he would see no more

As a five-year-old, I felt a little bit of his pain

i caught a glimpse of tears in his eyes
They were there for only a few moments

He listened to me tell a story
His sadness faded

I said something funny that made him laugh

If I played a small part in lessening his sadness about the friends he wouldn’t see again

that brings me some comfort

When I visited my grandfather and grandmother, I will never forget him coughing for half an hour or more

The effects of mustard gas on his body shortened his life

He died of his third heart attack when I was only five

Who he was lives on in me and the members of his family

His is one life of millions who remind us of the cost of being free

The sacrifice for our liberties

We can’t unring the bell

We can’t bring back the millions of men, women, infants, children, teenagers

Over six million Jewish people who were victims of the Holocaust

Those who gave their lives in World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan

The many who suffer from PTSD

Those in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Marines, and Marines who were physically and emotionally shattered

The sight of several in wheelchairs from their injuries

The blind who may never see again

Those who can’t hear or whose ability to hear is reduced

The many who lied about their age to enlist and died

But this one thing we can do

When we see veterans wearing poppies thank them for their service

For the terrible cost from every continent shore to shore that war

would be no more

I’m a stumbling sinner saved by grace trying to teach others where to find it.