Powerful post, veterans remembered

[Guest guest]

This was so touching and " there for me " as my father served in wwII and

granddad served in wwI, my own son served in wwII (any soldier who served in

Berlin

before the wall came down was a serving in an unresolved conflict territory

and thus Don Jr was a veteral of a war that was over before his mother was

born. MY youndest son was in Dessert Storm. My middle son also served, but was

not in either conflict. I loved seeing the respect due them. Please delete if

out veterans is not a topic you wish to see. Love, Marilyn

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> I went to dinner this evening at the Chili's restaurant across from the

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> Hilton Crystal City in Arlington, VA. This weekend, they dedicate the WWII

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> Memorial. In conjunction with that there is a national WWII Veterans'

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> reunion this weekend. The rooms previously filled with school children are

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> now being filled with men and women who might easily be the

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> great-grandparents of the youngsters I've been seeing.

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> For the first time I can think of I was actually glad a waitress wouldn't

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> return to my table. I entered the Chili's and sat down to enjoy a real

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> meal, the last one here in the city for a while. The young waitress came,

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> took my order, and brought me my usual water and lemon. As I watched, I saw

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> the manager come and pull her aside. In her I saw that " I really don't have

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> time for this " look.

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> In less than thirty seconds, elderly people began gathering around the

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> tables next to me. It took quite a bit of time to get them seated since

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> their physical abilities varied tremendously from one individual to another.

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> There were about twenty men and women of varying ages surrounding the tables

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> and having a seat. Something of an era gone by struck a romantic note in my

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> heart as I watched this gentleman pull the chair out and seat his lady. His

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> body was bent. His wife was not as strong as he. He waited to be seated

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> until he had helped her adjust her chair.

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> It was pretty obvious they were in a travel group. Rather than look at the

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> menus they were allowed to choose between two entrees, and they could

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> substitute the two side dishes. The young waitress went around to each one.

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> With each she was smiling and patient-at times answering the same questions

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> two or three times. When she came next to me, she apologized and told me

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> she would refill my water glass as soon as she was done there.

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> At this I just smiled and said, " No problem. Don't worry about it. " I was

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> enjoying just being an observer. I almost felt like an intruder by

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> observing the interaction between these two very different generations.

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> Perhaps this vignette intrigued me on a more cerebral level. The young girl

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> was Asian-quite possibly of Japanese descent. She has been raised in the

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> United States. Her name is Judy, and she has no trace of a foreign accent.

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> Perhaps some of her family members had been in internment camps or even came

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> here after WWII.

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> There were other people in the restaurant who noticed the group. I saw a

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> couple at another table watching the group as they visited with each other

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> and asked Judy for clarifications. The woman leaned toward her male

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> companion and said, " I'll bet they're vets. "

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> Reverence and respect filled that part of the dining area. During any other

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> week of the year, there would have been nods toward this conspicuous group,

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> but they wouldn't have been respectful. Someone would have pointed and

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> snickered or made rude remarks while trying to be funny and entertaining for

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> their friends.

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> I left before their meals were served-a young man slipped over to take care

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> of my needs while Judy was busy. I crossed the street and saw some more

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> vets arriving at my hotel. I wanted to walk up to him, shake his hand, and

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> simply tell him thank you. I missed that opportunity, but I think before I

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> leave tomorrow I shall find one of those vets and thank him.

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> While I waited for the elevator and then walked to my room, I thought, " It

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> seems that every generation has its battles to fight. My grandfather fought

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> in WWI. My father-in-law served in WWII, and my dad served in Korea. My

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> own generation had Viet Nam though our country pulled out before my

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> classmates were drafted. My son is currently serving in the navy and went

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> to the Persian Gulf the day the twin towers were hit and returned for a

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> second deployment during this current phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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> I could never put a price on what I've witnessed these past few days. It

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> has added depth to my interpretation of " respect your elders. " As I reflect

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> upon what I've been watching, I think I've just witnessed the definition of

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> " American. "

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> Kiss a vet between now and Monday. If you can't kiss one, at least shake

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> one's hand!

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> Carol

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