Unsung Heroes

[jester]

I thought this would be a good place to share this.

Bill and his wife are members of our church. Bill is a great old guy with a twinkle in his eye and a ready smile. From conversations with him, I knew that he had served in the South Pacific during the Second World War and sometimes wonders why he came back when so many of his buddies didn't.

Saturday night we had a function in the party room at the complex where Bill and his wife live. With a little persuasion, Bill agreed to take a few of us up to his apartment and show us his medals. His daughter had framed them in a very nice arrangement. In the center was the Marine Corp emblem, Bill's Corporal stripes, and his name tag. On the sides were six medals. There was no Congressional Medal of honor, nor was there a Good Conduct Medal or Marksmanship medal. This was the stuff of a Marine in the trenches.

In the top left corner was a Purple Heart. I had never seen one up close before and to be viewing it, standing next to the man who earned it, sent a little chill down my spine. The other five medals were for service in the South Pacific and South China Sea. Bill had been in three different campaigns to liberate the islands. He was back in the States being trained for the invasion of Japan when the war ended and he was discharged.

As we admired the medals and thanked Bill for his service to our country, I noticed that Bill stood a little more erect, a little taller, and had a smile that said he was still proud to be a Marine.

To me, Bill and the others like him, are true American heroes.

John