As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day,
pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of
his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.
The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in
my car, and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet
away.
I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his
arm walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took
a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say
something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new
Cadillac Escalade. He then turned back to the old man. I heard him
yell at the old gentleman saying: 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car
at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled
rubber out of the parking lot.
I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief, and mop his
brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her;
he appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough, and I
approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight, and as I got near
him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.'
He smiled sheepishly, and quietly nodded his head. I looked under
the hood myself, and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me.
Looking around, I saw a gas station up the road, and I told the old man
that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went
inside. I saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of
them, and related the problem the old man had with his car. I offered to
pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.
The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and
appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and
thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated
engine), I spoke with the old gentleman.
When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps
ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I
nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?'
He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at
Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal.
I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to
the station. Once at the station, I told them that they had interrupted their
own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for
the help, but they refused to charge me.
One of them pulled out a card from his pocket, looking exactly like
the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then that they
were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was
leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to
me. I said I would and drove off.
For some reason I had gone about two blocks, when I pulled over and
took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name
of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was
written: 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'
I sat there motionless, looking at the card and reading it over and
over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled
that on this day, four Marines had all come together because one of us needed
help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to
greatness and courage, and an honor to have been in his presence.
Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM.
Thanks to those who served and still serve, and to all of those who
supported them, and who continue to support them.
India is not at war. The Indian
Military is at war. India is at the Mall. If you don't stand
behind our troops, you may not be at the Mall for long!
Remember, Freedom isn't Free. Thousands
have paid the price so that you can enjoy what you have today.
The author's identity is unknown
I wish we have same sense of respect for our soldiers as havethey. While in States I was pleasently pleased to see most of the cars rear glass proudly displaying "RESPECT YOUR SOLDIERS "
ReplyDeletetrue... i hope i am doing my bit to my country as well as they did to theirs
ReplyDeletehow i wish the nation wakes up to be in sync with reality and honour its soldiers..I will always follow this path and fortunately have been able to do so..best luck to nation too...
ReplyDelete