As twilight envelopes Sherpeland on this Memorial Day, a light fog has descended upon the countryside. Everything is very green and very wet. It rains and rains and rains. After a very long winter we’ve been blessed or cursed with a very wet spring. Your outlook all boils down to whether you see the rain gauge as half empty or half full.
Right now, it’s full enough for most people around here, especially the farmers. It’s almost the end of May and many farmers haven’t been able to get in their fields to plant the corn crop. It never dries out enough between rain showers to get in the fields without burying the equipment in the mud. Farming is a tough job, but this spring has been an especially trying time for them.
I’m tired of the wet weather too, but I can’t complain. I’m high and dry as I sit here and I don’t have to worry about a corn crop that still needs planting. On this Memorial Day evening I’m safe and dry in our house as the fog sets in and darkness begins to surround us. As I sit here looking out the window, my mind drifts back to nights like this many years ago in a far away land. Rain-soaked vegetation with fog settling in low areas, especially at twilight, seems to be a trigger that unlocks those memories for me.
We were miserable at times in the stifling heat and humidity, torrential downpours during the Monsoon rains, water-logged boots and socks, mud that sucked us in and trapped us, blood-sucking malaria-carrying mosquitoes, creepy-crawly critters, poisonous snakes, booby traps, and oh yes, enemy forces lurking in the bushes that wanted to kill us. But, I would rather have had all those conditions to deal with than the snow and freezing cold that our troops endured during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II and in Korea. I can’t imagine how miserable they must have been and how hard it must have been to fight when they were freezing to death. I have so much respect for them.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War on July 27, 1953. Lately, there have been articles about the war and I imagine there will be more as the anniversary date approaches. It’s about time the Korean vets are recognized for the sacrifices they made. Korean War KIA’s and MIA’s were the focal points of my talk at the Viroqua Memorial Day program.
I also stressed that it’s important that those of us who are still alive, remember those who weren’t as lucky as we were. These extra years have been a gift and we shouldn’t waste a single day.
I think Wisconsin author Ben Logan said it best. He was an LST commander in World War II and the only one in his crew to survive the war. When I visited with him at his farm nine years ago and interviewed him about his World War II experiences for a Veteran’s Day column, he told me, “I still think of those men. The incident changed my life and made life increasingly precious. I pledged then that I would never waste a moment. I dedicated myself to live for them too.”
This past week I was talking with a Vietnam vet friend. We’re both rather driven and always busy doing something. I mentioned what I was going to talk about in my Memorial Day talk. He said he felt the same way. He didn’t want to waste any of these extra days and years he’d been given either. Life is precious. We must make the best of the time we have. Too many of our friends didn’t get this chance. I used to think I was the only one who felt that way, but now I suspect a great many veterans feel the same way.
Because I don’t want to waste this extra “bonus” time I’ve been given, it bothered me when I read the new Department of Veterans Affairs report that said 22 veterans commit suicide every day. That’s alarming. Also alarming is that 69% were over the age of 50. That puts them in the Vietnam, Korea, and World War II age group. Evidently those people were hurting and didn’t seek or get help. Maybe it’s the old medic in me that wants to help and heal everyone, but I think it’s tragic that so many people see no hope ahead, and the only way out is to end it all. That needs to change.
Perhaps for some, the fog of war gets in the way, just like when driving in a heavy fog, they can hardly make out the road ahead. When people can no longer see clearly, it’s easy to lose the way. We all need to remember that the fog will eventually rise and the sun will shine again.
These rainy days we’ve been experiencing will eventually give way to dry days. Like Gene Kelly, when it's raining we need to sing and dance in the rain and enjoy it. When dry weather comes and we need the rain, we can even do a rain dance! Keep dancing and don’t waste these years that we’ve been given. Our fallen comrades would love to be in our place.
Every day is a great day to be alive!
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