Thank you to our Veterans

[Nanuq]

On this Veterans' Day I want to take a moment to thank those who have served on our behalf. Thank you.

Old Man and a Bucket of Shrimp

It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.

Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.

Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of shrimp.

Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier.

Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank you.'

In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place .

When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.

If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp.

To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant .....maybe even a lot of nonsense.

Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Busters. Most of them would probably write old Ed off, down there in Florida ...

That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better.

His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.

Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or even if they were alive. Every day across America millions wondered and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive.

The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft...suddenly Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull!

Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait....and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea.

Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.

[droptopman]

B, thanks for that awesome story.  Indeed many, many thanks to our Veterans.  I can never put into words the gratitude I have for our service men and women and the sacrifices they endure to protect our freedoms.  

[Sub007]

Thank you my friend for this great Story. Thanks to the brave men and women who fought and still fight in far away countries so we could - can live in freedom. 

[Mike on a bike]

Least we forget.

[sgtguk]

Great story, indeed lest we forget those who fought for our freedom..... 

[kernow]

Thanks for sharing. It's true of many veterans that they don't speak of what happend. My own grandfather, long departed, never spoke of his time on the convoys. We owe them a massive amount, much off which is not comprehended by the younger generation.  

[hambone]

Great story thanks for telling it. I'm proud to be a vet. To all my Brothers and Sisters who served, Happy Veterans Day!

[436NR]

I, like many, served not for the glory or the recognition. There is no glory in war and no one hates it more than a soldier. I served because someone needs to... I served for those who could not and for those who would not. I served so that many others did not have to. To my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Arms, thank you and Happy Veterans Day! For those who did not, I am very happy to have served for you!

P

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[panerai153]

We should all stand in awe of those brave men and women who left the comfort of their home, a warm bed and three hot meals a day, a loving family and friends to embark on missions that they knew may signal the end of their short life. They went, they fought, and most came home, but many didn't. They all gave unselfishly of themselves to ensure that the rest of us could enjoy the comfort of our home, a warm bed and our loving family. That we could enjoy the freedoms that we often take for granted, but are lacking in many parts of the world.

Thank you veterans for your service and sacrifices to keep us safe. God Bless each and every one of you.

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[martijnp]

Thank you B. for this great story. 

Respect those who fight for their country and for our freedom. 

[Ezio]

This day is to remember and salute all those who have fought for peace no mather religion or belief 

and those who still fight long after their service 

a Wise man Said once only those who die is the ones that get peace 

 

great story too 

 

I myself still visit every year our forever burning flame for  those we have lost