Thank God for Our Veterans
Many veterans attend our church. We always take time to honor them for their service on Veterans’ Day and any other opportunity we might have throughout the year. We have a wall dedicated to our veterans.
There is one very special 100-year-old World War II veteran named Marvin. If asked, he shares stories about what he went through. It may be hard to believe for some, but it is true. He used to do a lot of fishing, but not any longer. His favorite was crappie fishing. I have heard those stories too.
We have a few Korean War veterans who will tell you about the snow and the cold, but not much else about what they went through. Most will talk fishing with you, though.
There are many Vietnam veterans, myself included, who don’t talk about that war or being spit on and cursed at when we came home. Fishing was and still is, for some, a way to escape from those memories for a little while.
We also have men and women from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Two of them still battle with PTSD. Liam volunteers on our church security team. I made the mistake once of walking up behind him and putting my arms around him. The next thing I knew I was on the ground looking up at him. He also works with our youth, and they love him.
Jim is a quiet man who fights his battle with PTSD by making things to auction off at different fundraisers we have for people in need. He is the one who made our veterans’ wall at church.
We tried a special deer hunting event for our church veterans one year. We no longer do that. The sound of guns going off, the fields and forests, and the blood on the ground brought back too many bad memories.
Now, we plan a crappie fishing trip for as many of our veterans as want to go. Liam, Jim, and many others look forward to it. They love being on the water in the boats, the tug of a crappie on the end of their line. They stop fishing when they see an eagle sitting in a tree or flying around.
When we have enough fish, we meet back at the church to enjoy a meal of crappie and all the fixin’s. Before we eat, we all look up and salute our country’s flag flying on a pole in our church parking lot. Then we sing God Bless America. During the blessing, we always thank God for the special day we have spent with these special men and women who served our country.
I hope this story inspires those who read it to do something for our veterans who have done so much for all of us. A crappie fishing trip is a good way to do that, but there are many other ways. Most importantly, thank God for our veterans.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
