My father was a World War II veteran serving in the U. S. Navy from 1943-1946. He didn’t talk much about those years, but he and my mother left a correspondence they exchanged during the war years which I transcribed into an almost 500 page book, “Letters: A Romance in Wartime.” I discovered that his ship had undergone several aerial bombardments in the Philippines, something he had never even mentioned to me. Most of his letters, however, dwelt on the monotony of daily service–like the ten hours he spent digging tree stumps at his base in Tampa.

Many WWII veterans had experiences like my father. They enlisted with little understanding of what was before them. They left home with no certainty that they would ever return, and more than 400,000 of them didn’t. They believed their country needed them. When we look at the horrors of that war, we shudder at the thought of how much worse it might have been if they hadn’t gone.

May we honor the millions of men and women who have served their nation in the armed services.   

“O judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (The Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer).

Read Psalm 90:1-2 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne