achiro
1/25/2007, 07:45 PM
He rarely talked about it when I was young, about all we knew as kids was that during WWII he was a medic. He has opened up about it a bit in the last couple of years and tears flow to this day as he remembers those days he spent in Europe. He is always very humble in his descriptions and rarely takes credit for anything he did. I can only imagine how many men he helped to save and how many he comforted as they drifted away. He talks of being with Patton’s 3rd Army at Bastogne and the Remagen Bridge seems to be the one place he talks about most, he was with one of the first groups to cross after it was taken. There are many more but coming in small snippets, like the “screaming mimi’s” that caused trees to literally explode around him, or the day another medic took his place in a jeep and was shot just after leaving the camp. I’ve never seen him talk about it more than a short time without breaking down, that’s how most of the conversations would end. He did earn a purple heart, a bronze star with at least one cluster, and several other medals that I don’t know. The only way I ever saw them was if I snuck in and dug his blouse from the back of his closet. His love for our country has never wavered and he has stated several times that he would do it again in a heartbeat.
Shortly after returning home he became a pastor and continued to preach the gospel from the pulpit until just a few years ago when he retired, he continues to preach it to anyone that will sit with him for more than a few minutes. In the aspect of his faith and love I have never met a more incredible man. In my 36 years I have never heard him say a curse word, and never anything in anger. Once in a while, he will speak of enjoying a beer with his buddies before the war but never had a drop after he gave his life to Christ. Over the years, those that considered him a fool for his cause or even an enemy, well…he would just pray for them even harder. An amazing man with strength of faith stronger than anyone I know. I’ve always seen him as a giant among men, not that he was particularly tall, in fact just about average. No, what I mean is that in his younger days, he was the type that would demand notice of a room without a word but just by walking into it. He was a guest pastor at a local church just a little over a month ago and even though his weakened body caused him to sit for much of the time, he showed that age had not weakened his ability to captivate a room.
Unfortunately this would be the last time for him to preach to a crowd. He was diagnosed with cancer just a few months ago with no hope of recovery, it has happened quicker than any of us could have imagined. Just two weeks ago he was talking about getting a pool table to give him something to do...this week he started morphine. Since Sunday, his catheter bag has been slowly filling with blood. The pain meds keep him asleep most of the time and when he is awake he speaks little more than a couple of words at a time. Yesterday he began talking to his mother and father as if they were in the room. Hospice tells us that this is a normal thing in the last few days and it won’t be long. Seeing him go through this is the toughest thing I have ever had to witness. I would love for him to wake up and be aware just one more time so I can tell him how much I love him but I am not selfish…I just pray that God takes him quickly, he shouldn’t have to hurt like this anymore. I hugged him tight today and told him goodbye, he was nothing but skin and bones…his body is just a shell of it former self but he’s still my grandpa, he is still my hero.
Shortly after returning home he became a pastor and continued to preach the gospel from the pulpit until just a few years ago when he retired, he continues to preach it to anyone that will sit with him for more than a few minutes. In the aspect of his faith and love I have never met a more incredible man. In my 36 years I have never heard him say a curse word, and never anything in anger. Once in a while, he will speak of enjoying a beer with his buddies before the war but never had a drop after he gave his life to Christ. Over the years, those that considered him a fool for his cause or even an enemy, well…he would just pray for them even harder. An amazing man with strength of faith stronger than anyone I know. I’ve always seen him as a giant among men, not that he was particularly tall, in fact just about average. No, what I mean is that in his younger days, he was the type that would demand notice of a room without a word but just by walking into it. He was a guest pastor at a local church just a little over a month ago and even though his weakened body caused him to sit for much of the time, he showed that age had not weakened his ability to captivate a room.
Unfortunately this would be the last time for him to preach to a crowd. He was diagnosed with cancer just a few months ago with no hope of recovery, it has happened quicker than any of us could have imagined. Just two weeks ago he was talking about getting a pool table to give him something to do...this week he started morphine. Since Sunday, his catheter bag has been slowly filling with blood. The pain meds keep him asleep most of the time and when he is awake he speaks little more than a couple of words at a time. Yesterday he began talking to his mother and father as if they were in the room. Hospice tells us that this is a normal thing in the last few days and it won’t be long. Seeing him go through this is the toughest thing I have ever had to witness. I would love for him to wake up and be aware just one more time so I can tell him how much I love him but I am not selfish…I just pray that God takes him quickly, he shouldn’t have to hurt like this anymore. I hugged him tight today and told him goodbye, he was nothing but skin and bones…his body is just a shell of it former self but he’s still my grandpa, he is still my hero.