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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 said that he
served with the first Marine Division at Guadalcanal, Pelieliu, and Okinawa. He had hit three of the worst ones, and
retired from the
Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw
the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his
wallet, but was stopped by
me. I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA
card.
He still reached
for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on
it, and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again, and I said
my goodbye's to his wife.
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, as we
approach another Memorial Day, OLD
men like him gave you, and all of us, FREEDOM for America.
Thanks to those
who served and still serve, and to all of those who supported them, and who
continue to support them.
America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war.
America is at the
Mall.
If you don't
stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them! Remember,
Freedom isn't Free.
Thousands have paid the price, so
that you can enjoy what you have today.
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