Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. A time to reflect on those who gave their lives in service to this nation. Its a twenty-four hour period which normally finds me hold up in my place, withdrawn, thinking about those friends that died in Vietnam, suicide or later due to lack of adequate VA medical treatment-politics of the living.

This is not a political rant, but rather from the heart as it should be on this day.

Here's my list of some thought of:

Dick Westberg-always remember playing football in the snow with him and his brothers at their home in Marshalltown IA. He died at Rach Kien, SVN, March, 1968.

Harvey Gilbert-friendliest guy in the world working at a Marshalltown grocery store for enough money to go to college. Died in Vietnam.

Darwin Judge-hung with his brother in Marshalltown and was shocked to see he was the last GI to die in Vietnam in 1975.

Darryl Bittner-great guy who worked in the same grocery as Harvey, but decided to do something for his country. Died in Vietnam.

David Rudy-Force Recon who suffered horrendously from Agent Orange. Great smile, but overdosed on Qualude after noticing a rash on his little girl's legs. He survived the Nam, but couldn't deal with her suffering the way he did. She had a normal rash, but he saw what he saw.

Charles Nevin-always smiling, always friendly and a hell of a pilot. Served a tour in Vietnam, survived and died in an aircraft mishap outside Wheelus AB, Libya.


These are, but a few remembered with thoughts just to remind myself their deaths were not to be dwelled upon, but rather to learn from. Memorial Day is a day of remembering, but more so it is a day all of us should forge a way to find peace. A peace that insures no more will have to die for this nation.

Wishful thinking, many of you will say, and unfortunately, there is much credence to that. The Kellog-Briand Treaty of 1928 signed by many nations including the United States outlawed "the crime of war forever." Sadly, it was extinguished by nations seeking to reclaim past glory and established their world position. Outlawing war is easily spoken, but the tendency of humans for domination is more diffcult to comprehend much less dissipate. The search for peace lies not only within a nation, but its citizens who must look within themselves for understand the beautiful and the ugly; view the unvarnished truth about ourselves in relation to everyone else in this world. This is not deemed politically correct in the age we live.

Memorial Day is for the living to contemplate some way to avoid those rows of grave markers seen at Arlington National Cemetery. Very few Veterans met extoll the glory of war, but those who haven't served are caught in a time warp where movies extolling glory still control their impressions. War is ugly. The utter destruction destroys innocence leaving misshapen minds and souls. No one participating in combat returns a whole person, but caught in a struggle between darkness and light. A dream of the past and the present while struggling to create a quality life.

So Dick, Harvey, Darwin, Chuck, Darryl, David, I think of you and so many others that died protecting your buddies and will continue to live as a reminder to others what war is about. Rest in peace and may your premature deaths cause the living to reflect on the nature of our existence still seeing violent hostility as the initial response to international problems.