The 4th
Julie and I went up to our cabin at Camp Glisson for the 4th of July. We enjoy getting to the cabin anytime, and we know Dahlonega will have plenty of 4th of July activities. Among other activities we saw a pretty good fireworks display at the Lumpkin County High School last night.
It's almost impossible not to think about our fighting men and women when you are in Dahlonega for this holiday. Every road coming into the downtown area is lined with white crosses, each cross with the name of a person from Lumpkin Country who has fought in a war going back to World War I. An American flag is attatched to each cross. If the person remembered was killed in the war, there is a KIA on the cross. One of the stricking things to me about this display is how many of the names are from World War II = I would guess almost 70% of the total number. I have heard it said that almost every household in America was directly impacted by that conflict, and the crosses in Dahlonega would seem to bear that out. I sometimes wish we had equally moving ways to honor people who ohave given their lives to peacemaking, but these crosses and flags are a powerful reminder of so many who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedom.
My son, Josh, fought for a year in Afghanistan. He recently gave me a book to read that was written by a member of his unit. The title is Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green. This book has got me to thinking about soldiers as well, especially my son. Perhaps because it hits so close to home, this book has been the most troubling read I have done so far on our current combat operations. As written, Army recruiters lie (a theme in everything I have read), the Army beaurocracy often is lost in space, we don't do well relating to the Afghani people, and the whole experience is enough to scar most anyone involved. When we talk about the sacrifices
our soldiers make, we need to understand that all of them are impacted deeply by their service, not only those killed and wounded. Josh and I are having some good conversations around the book and his experiences, as I continue to try to understand as best I can what he went through. The 4th is a good time to reflect on those who have served in this way.
Jimmy
It's almost impossible not to think about our fighting men and women when you are in Dahlonega for this holiday. Every road coming into the downtown area is lined with white crosses, each cross with the name of a person from Lumpkin Country who has fought in a war going back to World War I. An American flag is attatched to each cross. If the person remembered was killed in the war, there is a KIA on the cross. One of the stricking things to me about this display is how many of the names are from World War II = I would guess almost 70% of the total number. I have heard it said that almost every household in America was directly impacted by that conflict, and the crosses in Dahlonega would seem to bear that out. I sometimes wish we had equally moving ways to honor people who ohave given their lives to peacemaking, but these crosses and flags are a powerful reminder of so many who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedom.
My son, Josh, fought for a year in Afghanistan. He recently gave me a book to read that was written by a member of his unit. The title is Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green. This book has got me to thinking about soldiers as well, especially my son. Perhaps because it hits so close to home, this book has been the most troubling read I have done so far on our current combat operations. As written, Army recruiters lie (a theme in everything I have read), the Army beaurocracy often is lost in space, we don't do well relating to the Afghani people, and the whole experience is enough to scar most anyone involved. When we talk about the sacrifices
our soldiers make, we need to understand that all of them are impacted deeply by their service, not only those killed and wounded. Josh and I are having some good conversations around the book and his experiences, as I continue to try to understand as best I can what he went through. The 4th is a good time to reflect on those who have served in this way.
Jimmy
posted by Jimmy at 12:31 PM
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