On this Veteran's Day I am remembering, reliving my last visit to Washington DC. I am drawn like a moth to a flame to that long Black Wall on the Mall. The memorial of my generation and etched in that ebony stone the names of thousands of young Americans (we were so young then). It fills your vision, a dominating presence, so that as you stand before it, it seems to stretch forever in oppressive silence and stand in awe and reverence of their gift. Then it is on to Arlington National Cemetery where in stark contrast one sees white head stones acre upon acre gleaming in the sun light. The Tomb of the Unknown. The green manicured grass glistening with dew, the humbling, eerie silence and the wind echoing through the trees, these are mute reminders of freedom's awesome cost. Where do we find people like these, I ask myself? Yet the answer is self-evident. In the Big Cities, Small Towns, Villages, Farms, Ranches, Mountains, Plains and Sea Ports of these United States. They are our fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, cousins and friends, they are "US." They are from every race and religion, social and economic strata. They hear and answer the call of Freedom because it is embedded in their soul. It echos in the songs they sing, the stories they are told. It is in every molecule of the air they breath, the water they drink ,the food they eat and it is encoded in their DNA. It is a living Dream an Idea and so much more, a spirit greater than any single person. They give: their youth, their life, their last full measure of devotion to that Dream, to that Transcendent Idea and most of all to their brothers in arms. Thank you is never enough, but it is more than they asks.... They were so young and full of life. We must remember. We must never forget-the enormous cost of our Freedom...As long as I have breath I Will Remember You!!!!
Bob Phillips
Hm3 USN 1969-1973
