Sunday, April 22, 2012

eight still standing


Had the privilege these past few days
of visiting
with these eight soldiers...
veterans of the
Tenth Mountain Division ~ World War II
who fought
 in the hills of northern Italy.

They are delightful!
They are our heros!

Their tales are many and varied.
They speak of the battles at Riva Ridge and Bellvedere,
but they also speak of the people of Italy
who opened
their hearts and homes
 to these brave young boys
willing to fight and die for freedom.

They speak of what might have been...
a shell
that hit the exact place
 that one of them had just vacated....
decimating everything around.

Four mules that died in the night right by where they were sleeping.

A "duck" boat
 that went down on a lake
with 27 men
into the deep cold waters....
and the one called back from boarding at the very last minute. 
(That would be my dad)

They speak the big old feather mattress in an abandoned farmhouse,
the scarcity of food,
and the little children
with buckets
begging for one last crumb.

They speak of friends
that were there by their side one minute
 and gone the next.

They tell of taking a helmet
from a dead German,
and of finding a picture
of a beautiful girl
in a dead soldier's pocket.

What an honor to spend time with these men and their wives,
just listening,
and thanking them for risking their lives 
for what we have today.



1 comment:

Allison Stroud said...

Reading this gave me chills. What incredible history right in your own family.