“It’s LOVE that make the world go ’round . . . !”
* * *
Love is shown in your deed, not in your words.
- Father Jerome Cummings
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Stop to Salute
It was raining “cats and dogs” and I was late for physical
training. Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky.,
and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to
be late and I was growing more and more impatient.
The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial
Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the
Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the
history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Because
it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been
placed in the ground next to each soldier’s memorial plaque.
My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck,
getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time. All of a sudden,
infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car
in front of me stopped. A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in
the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove.
I couldn’t believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone
for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking. I waited
to see the chewing that I wanted him to get for making me late.
He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDUs were plastered to
his frame. I watched-as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques,
picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in
the wind and the rain, and set it upright again. Then, slowly, he
came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off.
I’ll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will
never
know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred
books or a thousand lectures. That simple salute — that single act
of
honoring his fallen brother and his flag — encapsulated all the Army
values in one gesture for me. It said, “I will never forget. I will
keep
the faith. I will finish the mission. I am an American soldier.”
I thank God for examples like that. And on this Memorial Day, I will
remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and
one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them.
- from Captain John Rasmussen~ United States Army (via Guidewords)
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