Ten years ago I wrote about going to Andersonville with WWII Veteran Private Julian Parker. Today, I am in Rome, Italy on this Memorial Day. It is 7:40 am here and you are probably sleeping soundly as it is 1:40 am in Georgia.
I think back and wonder what it was like for Private Parker as he and half a million young men huddled on the Higgins boats chigging through the surf of that fateful day. For many this would be one of their last memories as they would never return.
Private Parker did return home. He came home carrying shrapnel and horrible memories of his buddies being cut down by armaments that were supposed to have been taken out by navel artillery – but they weren’t.
His memories were so vivid, so deep, so painful that when he got home from the war, he took his old hunting rifle out in the woods, dug a hole, and buried it. He wanted nothing to more to do with killing. He experienced enough of that to last a lifetime.
You can read Julian’s story by clicking on his picture.
Julian, like most other WWII Veterans has passed on. I have the freedom, and frankly luxury, as an American to return to these historic lands for a vacation.
The Italian Campaign is sometimes overshadowed by the beaches of Normandy or the push across France, but the battles fought here were among the most grueling of the entire war. As we flew into Italy, we saw the beautiful Alps. Eight decades ago those beautiful mountains were not enjoyed, they were endured.
At Salerno, at Anzio, at Monte Cassino, our young men fought in mud, snow, and relentless enemy fire. They fought uphill, often literally, against some of the most entrenched positions of the war. They fought not for glory, but because the cause of liberty demanded it.
Many were barely out of high school. Some had never traveled beyond their hometowns until the day they boarded a bus taking them to train for a job they never dreamed of or planned to have to do.
The Army offered Julian Parker a promotion, but he turned them down. As he put it, he told the Army that he did not want to be there to start with and just wanted to get the job done and go home. They pressed forward, step by step, because they believed that tyranny must not be allowed to stand, but primarily because it was the only way to stay alive.
And so, from Rome — a city that witnessed the march of ancient legions and the liberation brought by modern ones — I pause to honor those who never made it home. I honor those who fell far from the places they loved, fighting for a world they believed could be better.
So, today, pause for a moment in whatever you may be doing and remember. Memorialize those who died so that you may experience the freedom and blessings of this day.
Thank you for taking a moment to read. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
