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 I 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), 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 ... He had hit all the big 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 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, OLD men like him gave our 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 IS NOT free. Thousands have paid the price, so you can enjoy what you have today. LET'S DO THIS - JUST 19 WORDS: GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY; AND PLEASE PROTECT OURFREEDOMS, AND WATCH OVER OUR TROOPS, ‘WHO ARE DEFENDING THOSE FREEDOMS. AMEN. Pass this prayer to 12 people. IN GOD WE TRUST! GOVERNMENT, - NOT SO MUCH!
I wonder if this occurred in Salt Lake City? I had the honor of meeting a retired Marine at the court house there, who wore a pin that indicated that he had been involved in those landings during WW2. Semper Fi Marine, and may the Lord bless and watch over you.
Brother in law bought a piece of land from a man . He helped him get it sub divided, helped build a house, taught his son how to shoot and was a really nice old man. Didn't think much of it until I saw on TV that he was at a function for the WW2 Medal of Honor that were still alive. Mr Burt never mentioned it, when asked, said it all happened a long time ago and that he was lucky to be alive. The most amazing thing about the Award was that it wasn't given for 30 seconds of heroism, it was given for days of never quitting. James Montross Burt | World War II | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient
It gives me comfort to know we walk among giants, Men who fought for our freedom's in distant lands to keep the horrors of war from ever being experienced here! Semper Fi!
"He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal ..." I understand what the 'email' is trying to say and I support it but...there is a problem here as the 1st Marine Division wasn't at Tarawa, Saipan or Iwo Jima. Before you jump all over me, please understand that I'm a real military historian nutcase, always have been since my childhood days and this stuck out like a sore thumb to me. So, sorry if my comment offends anyone and please remember, I still support the message the email is trying to relay. The 2nd Marine Division did hit three of those campaigns as it was involved in Tarawa, Saipan and Guadalcanal but...the 1st was only on Guadalcanal.
Mom had a cousin that drafted or joined up in 1941 and was part of the Viking division from the midwest. Was 29 years old, a heavy equipment operator and was told he was to old to be an rifleman and made part of a engineer group. He was involved in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and went ashore with the division in France. He built pontoon bridges under fire over several major rivers and ended up the war getting railroads back in business to haul supplies. Don't know, but from what he said, a lot of specialists groups were often "loaned" out from their division for other operations. His specialty was building bridges, docks and such, temp at first and then improving as able.
