Here at Three Ravens, veterans and their fallen brethren-in-arms are very important to us. William Joseph Roberts is a veteran of the Air Force, and many of our authors and readers have served or have family who have served. As such, we take holidays honoring both veterans and fallen heroes very seriously. This won’t be a post pushing sales or trying to otherwise get you to buy something. You know what we sell! No need to bring it up again today, other than to remind that we support the Shepherd’s Men, a foundation dedicated to getting the help that struggling veterans need:
This nationally renowned program focuses on assessment and treatment for American military veterans who have sustained mild to moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during post-9/11 service.
We support SHARE with a goal to cover the program’s annual clinical budget of $1.2 million and increase the number of clients who can be served. Since 2014, we’ve raised more than $6 million to support more than 750 veterans and their families, at no cost to them.
My question here is for you readers: what do you do to honor Memorial Day? What does the holiday mean to you? For those who didn’t serve and didn’t have anyone close to them who served, it may just be an extra day off near the beginning of summer. And that’s great! Enjoy the day and the cookouts and the companionship. For those who have a more vested interest, though, what do you do on it?
I never served, but I had family who did: an uncle in Vietnam, and two great-uncles in World War II. I never met the two from World War II. One was killed in a mortar barrage during the Battle of the Bulge, and the other died of complications from injuries sustained in a minefield in the weeks following D-Day. People in my family tend to be long-lived so long as they steer clear of the cigarettes and the alcohol (Queue up the ol’ D.A.R.E. campaign images here!), so I’m fairly certain I would’ve gotten to meet them both had the war not touched their lives. I’ll have to wait until Heaven to get to meet them, and I’m looking forward to that.
We did get to spend quite a bit of time with our uncle who served in Vietnam. He lived a good life following his time in the Army, up until the long-term effects of Agent Orange caught up with him. Those last few years were rough, but we all spent what time we could with him, and he was secure in his faith as to where he would be once this life was done. It was only in those last few years that he really started opening up about his experiences while he was there. The full experience, not just the funny moments. He was on a firebase during the Tet Offensive, totally cut off from any relief except occasional air support. He said, “When the only orders you’re given is to ‘Hold your ground’ then you know it’s gotten bad.” Thankfully, he and his men survived, but it was nothing but close calls for many sleepless days and nights.
Who in your life do you remember on Memorial Day? How do you honor that memory? What stories of theirs do you wish to share? We’d love to hear them in the comments, from the serious to the hilarious. And I’d love to know if there’s anything I can pray about, for your loved one or for you.
