An Inspirational Day that Forever Lives on

You may not think much of this shot to the right. To me, it is a beautiful man about to embark on an incredible journey. While the Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor is a Day that forever will live in infamy, it was a day that inspired my grandfather to line up and immediately enlist.

You may think that in that day, this was a noble thing to do as many young men did. I will agree with you. However, this also inspired him to marry my grandmother, his five brothers-in-law went to war as well and everyone at home was waiting.

What he is holding here, was probably one of the last times he did so. This was probably from when they were practicing for a great effort to be made in France. I am still thankful that I did not know this when I saw "Saving Private Ryan", as for some reason Gram-pop, told me he was a cook. When I was telling my Grandmother about the film and the horrific opening scene, she paused, made a face, waved her hand and said, "ah, your grandfather was in that." I nearly fell over. My next words were, "He survived?" Dumbfounded she answered, "Well, you are here." You see, he made a switch to be a Medic. So, his job was to not only be part of that perilous swim to the shore, but to give care and collect dog tags to those fallen soldiers.

This really sent my mind reeling. Just remember today, those that came before you and how they could truly make you who you are today.

Oh, and P.S,, I mentioned my five great uncles. They all returned.