Decembar 7, 2009 10:35 PM

It was a moving day today!

Not physically - but emotionally. My brother-in-law's uncle passed away last Thursday and today was the funeral and burial. He was a man that we had come in contact with a number of times at family gatherings. At 94, he was also a WWII veteran. As such, there was a military presence at the cemetary with the burial service concluding with the playing of taps, the flag folding ceremony, and the presentation of the flag to his widow. I had never before attended a burial where taps had been played. It was truly very moving and the entire military ritual offered a final thank you to a man for a debt owed to him that none of us can truly repay. Even when my father passed away, there was no playing of taps.

Ironically, today is Pearl Harbor Day and it provides the opportunity for our hearts and minds to extend back to that horrible day and the ensuing consequences that so many of the generation that went before me had to endure. As those veterans continue to leave us, those of us who never served can never fully understand and/or appreciate the sacrifices that were made in order for us to have what we have today. This service brought all of that to the surface and made it alive once more. I will never forget it.

Ironically, for me, my wife and I had vacillated over the past few days as to whether or not I should attend. But, when we realistically decided that there would not be a large crowd of people in attendence we decided that I should go.

We were right on the button with our assessment and I am so glad that I did...

Bob