Ten years ago, I was in Paris awaiting a flight back to the States. I had just finished a two-week trip to Italy with some members of my family, excited beyond words to have seen a sliver of the world beyond the USA and hungry to see more. It was one of those experiences that changes you, opens your eyes to new horizons and sets your heart on new ambitions. Travel the world. Learn another language. Think beyond your borders—always. Carpe diem.
The boundlessness of being 15.
While we were waiting for our flight in the terminal, I came across an elderly gentlemen, distressed, gently weeping. He was wearing a cap that clearly distinguished him as a veteran, and I realized he might be a D-Day veteran returning home. He was alone. I approached him and offered him the only icebreaker I could think of: “Hello, sir. Are you a D-Day veteran?”
I no longer remember the exact conversation that ensued, but it left a deeper impact on me than anything I had seen on my travels.
His wife had died that year, and his son had been dead for some time, too. He told me he felt that he had to come to the D-Day memorial services every year to pay tribute to his fellow soldiers—and his friends. He enjoyed having someone to talk to, I think. Complete stranger that I was, he found comfort in someone speaking English, and somehow in knowing I was an American. He told me stories about the war, about the landings, about the people in France he met while he was fighting to help liberate them. They were all dead, too.
I talked to him for at least 30 minutes, maybe an hour. I don’t remember the time. But he lives on in my mind, and always will. He was in an airport, alone with no family, with no one to go home to, but he couldn’t wait to get back. He wanted to go home. To America.
I don’t know what became of him, and his face has faded from my memory, but I will never forget him. I will never forget his sadness, his loneliness. I will also never forget his courage to keep on living, and his dedication to paying tribute to those that have gone on before him.
We, like him, should pay tribute to our veterans. World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam: the veterans of these conflicts are getting old, dying out. If you know someone who was involved in these wars, don’t neglect to talk to them. Hear their story. Cry with them. Show them your appreciation. And above all, give them your love.
May the Lord bless and comfort our veterans, and keep his watchful eye on our soldiers that fight to keep this nation safe.
