While on a recent trip, our tour guide took us to one of many battlefields. The guide commented that on that certain day 1500 soldiers had been killed on one side, but only 400 had been killed on the other side.
…ONLY 400 had been killed! …only 400!
These ONLY 400 people had the day before been someone’s son or daughter, someone’s brother or sister, husband or wife, friend. These 400 souls had become an estimated number.
Because I had served in the Navy, I was asked if I wanted to take an “Honor Flight”.
“Honor Flight Kentucky mission is to fly World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War veterans to Washington DC for a one-day, all-expense-paid visit to National memorials which are dedicated to honoring their service branch. Our goal is to fly as many Veterans as we can from Central, Eastern, and Southern Kentucky. We currently have several hundred Veteran applicants on our waiting list.”
In early October, Betty and I headed to the Lexington airport. Spouses were not invited to go on the trip, but were encouraged to attend an all-day event that included a bus ride to Keeneland, Vietnam War Memorial in Frankfort, lunch at the senior citizen center, beer and bourbon distillery tour, tour of Aviation Museum at the airport, dinner at the museum, and back to airport to welcome the veterans home.
The morning began with a large buffet breakfast for all and an introductory welcome talk, then we flew to Washington DC. Although the day began with overcast skies and cool temperatures, it quickly turned most beautiful, with blue skies, white clouds, and moderate temperatures.
We were assigned a companion who stayed with us for the entire day to guide, and in some cases, help us navigate steps, ramps, and other obstacles we would have difficulty as retired Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen. Some of the veterans walked with canes and some used wheelchairs and some had other disabilities.
While in DC, we visited WWI, WW2, Korean, and Vietnam memorials, each with a tour guide. For me, the visit to Arlington National Cemetery was the most *disturbing. All these young people died for what? Again, these were sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, neighbors. Has their deaths helped make this a better world? What did we learn about war?
We viewed a most impressive changing of the guard with their snappy moves, perfect coordination, spotless uniforms, and unsmiling, serious young faces...
After a full day of touring, learning, and paying homage to deceased veterans, we boarded the plane for our return trip to Lexington.
After a smooth short flight, we landed. While taxiing to the terminal, we were greeted with police cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and fire trucks all with their lights flashing. As we got closer, the fire engines sprayed our plane with welcoming bursts of water from their hoses. What a surprise!
We deplaned and were led through a special exit into the main lobby. Upon entering the lobby, we saw rows of greeters of all ages waying flags, shouting greetings, “Welcome Home” (in contrast to the unwelcome greetings many Vietnam veterans received on their return home). There was a bagpipe group playing rousing tunes while we made our way through the crowd. After walking through the gauntlet of people and past the band, we turned right into the main portion of the airport and were greeted by an even larger crowd, 4 deep at places, extending all the way to the opposite end of the terminal. Hundreds and hundreds of men, women, boys, girls, even a few pets, waving flags and shouting welcome home, shaking hands, and occasionally giving hugs.
We exited the terminal and all seemed quiet.
Betty and I headed home.
Some years ago, Betty and I took a river cruise from Kiev to Odessa on the Dnipro River in Ukraine. Good food and nice people aplenty. As we sailed from place to place, I began to realize, going from town to town, that there was a recurring theme. We visited memorial after memorial, memorials not to famous writers or composers, inventors and such but to people who had died in fighting or had been murdered. In Babi Yar, 34,000 Jews were murdered and thrown into a ravine, a massive grave. All these deaths occurred within 48 hours.
On visiting military memorials in Washington DC, I began to feel a similarity. How depressing, disgusting, and disturbing. A disturbance in my mind that doesn’t leave. Along with the American dead memorialized with the blocks of marble and stone, all young lives, there is an equal (if not more) number of deaths not represented. Our foes, the enemy, the “bad guys”. Most in their teens and early 20s with their entire lives ahead of them.
And with all this, I haven’t mentioned civilians.
For some, they find answers in their Bibles.
As I read mine, about page 4, in the Bible a short time after creation, we read in Genisis 4:8.
... and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.
Why? Fill in the blank. Jealousy, greed, envy, want of power, property, Love, Evil, Hate ...
To say the least we learn a lot from the Bible. So, after all this time, why have we learned nothing constructive from this Bible story? Why have we not evolved into the kind of humans we should be and, in my opinion, the person God created us to be.
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