A lot has happened since my last post. I’ve now got a gold wedding band on my left hand!
I’ll write about the BIG day and post pictures as soon as we receive them. Today, I want to say ‘Thank You’ to those who’ve served our great nation, and share a story I’m reminded of on this Memorial Day.
The Greatest Generation (no quotations needed)
One afternoon when I was 7 years old, my late World War II veteran grandfather, Chick, spread a map on the floor to show me where his PT boat navigated the Solomon Islands circa 1942.
He pointed to an area near Guadalcanal and said it was the most beautiful place he’d ever seen. But he never would elaborate on his war experience. It just wasn’t something The Greatest Generation talked about.
I didn’t think about that day for 25 years or so. I had many memories of my grandfather, but that particular day didn’t stand out as being more significant than any other.
The Pacific (HBO Series)
In the HBO Series, The Pacific, there’s a scene depicting four men from 1st Infantry Marine Division. They’d just won a brutal battle against the Japanese at Guadalcanal; thousands of casualties on both sides.
The men return from the fight exhausted. A server in the kitchen offers the Marines a cup of coffee, which they savor like it’s dripped from light-roasted heaven. Still, the men feel deflated, as if they’re on a small forgotten island in the middle of nowhere. One of them looks up from his coffee and asks the server, “Before you got here, had you ever heard of this place (Guadalcanal)?”
The server says, “Guadalcanal? Everyone’s heard of Guadalcanal and the First Marine Division. You guys are on the front page of every newspaper in America. You’re heroes back home.”
That scene gets me every time. Any man who’s ever watched a good war movie knows the feeling. (Next time you’re watching a war movie with a man and he quickly excuses himself from the room, you’ll know why.)
I’m referring to the closing scene of Episode 5: Guadalcanal. It flooded me with vivid memories of an afternoon with my grandfather. I could hear his voice and see his wrinkled hand showing me tiny island specs on the map.
A Golden Memory
My grandfather never shared his war experience with me. I had always thought it was because I was too young to hear it. But I don’t know if that’s right.
Like many of The Greatest Generation, I think my grandfather decided he’d take his story and awesome humility to the grave.
One thing he didn’t take with him was his gold wedding band; I’m proudly wearing it now.
