Remembering our vets
Earlier this month, Scott Perkins and I had to go to Baltimore on business. While there we decided to take a day trip to Washington. We visited several of the historical buildings along the Mall. I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Monument and looked east; at the foot of the Lincoln was a reflecting pool and at the end of it was a the WWII Memorial; beyond that was the Washington Monument rapped in scaffolding for repairs and beyond that was the Capitol.
To my left, down a path was the Vietnam Memorial, a wall with the names of the over 50,000 young men of my generation that lost their life in the distant war.
I had heard that the little brother one of my high school buddies was killed in this war. I looked up his name and there he was-William Terry Manning from Mobile Ala. I remember him as a freckle-faced kid two years younger than us, who just wanted to hang with brother and his friends. He was just a likable kid that was drafted into a war in Southeast Asia and now a name of a black granite wall.
As I looked at his name, I was reminded of two of my uncles that served in WWII. Ben Meadows was wounded in the Pacific and the Lloyd Freeman was a radio man on a bomber in Europe. After the war, they came back home and became family men. Neither talked about their service in the war and it was only at Uncle Lloyd’s funeral that I learned he flew 30 bombing missions over Germany. They were just two country boys who went to war and served their country with honor. I was proud to be related to both of them.
There are things wrong with our country but these can be fixed at the ballot box. Let’s remember that we celebrate our freedom because of those that served with honor and gave their life for this country.
Sherman Meadows
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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