Giving to Your Country--the Ultimate Sacrifice

I am a day late with my Veterans Day Post. I started it, but could not finish it until tonight.
Please forgive me.

This is a small silk flag that was given to my Grandparents to hang in their window. The three stars stand for the 3 sons that they had serving in the Armed forces of the USA during World War II. They had a total of 5 sons. Two were too young to serve during that war, but chose to serve their country by making it a life calling to serve and spent their life in this carreer.

I have heard my daddy tell the story a million times about how his two older brothers were drafted and he didn't have to go when they did because his daddy needed him to help run their small farm. He eventually would have to go, so he and my grandaddy began to try to get the farm into an way of operation where he would not have to have so much help. The two younger boys were still at home, but they were just not enough help. So, they bought a tractor to replace the mule and plow. The funniest story was told by my dad about the day they got the tractor. My dad hooked up the plow and made a few rounds to show my grandad how it worked. Then my grandad gave it a try. Everything was going great until my grandad began paying more attention to the beautiful row his new tractor and plow was making than where he was going. He "plowed the fence down" all the time hollering "Whoa, Whoa, Whoooooaaaaa!"

When my dad was finally drafted, the night before he was to leave he walked the floor holding his baby sister who was about 2 at the time. He went into the Navy and trained to Lauch torpedos from a submarine. He was stationed in Guam.

These two older bothers were involved in many of the major battles. It is amazing that none of these brothers were killed. They all came home. The brother on the left died at a young age of a heart attack. The one on the right lived to be old and would not speak of the war until he was older and then to say that the reason he stayed alive was that he kept his head down.

My grandparents did not lose their sons, but so many families did. So many lives have been lost in the wars. What is amazing is the way the country pulled together. The way the women went to work. Ration Stamps were issued to help people conserve what was needed for the war effort. People grew Victory Gardens to help feed the Country and in 1943 over 20,000 gardens were in use. All this was an effort for families to "do their part". Are we doing our part today? Mostly complaining!

I pray that we never lose sight of what we owe all the men and women. Of what they have given to us. War is necessary. It's the reason our country has the respect that it has. We will never be able to repay the debts we owe our Veterans. I salute them. I love my country. I pray we are headed in the right direction. Let's all pray and hold each others hands and pull together like they did then. Together we can have a Victory Garden.