Vietnam

Sunday night we had an awesome experience. The Moving Wall was here in Provo at the Memorial Park this past week and we decided to take a walk to visit it. Im so glad we did! I wish I had pictures, but our camera battery died. The Moving Wall is an exact replica (though smaller) of the Wall in D.C. There were loads of people there and a big tent were they would help you locate whomever you wanted on the Wall. There was an elderly gentleman there who shared his story of the war with a group of us. There's a group of 40 names on the wall who were in his 'group'(I don't know the correct terms). He calls them "My Guys".

He told stories of fighting with them, being under intense attack from the enemy, trying to save others, recovering bodies, rescuing the wounded, and other great acts of heroism. He commented that these men and women are heroes. We use the word hero too lightly today- Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods, and others are great athletes,and some even may be good role models, but they aren't heroes. They are paid millions for what they do. He said if we're going to use the word hero for these people, we need a better word for these soldiers- those who gave everything, sacrificed everything, for what they believe in.

He also mentioned the war in Iraq. I don't pretend to know at all what's going on over there and I'm certainly not well-read on the issue, but I do think we need to support our troops. The gentleman commented that today the soldiers have volunteered- they have personally chosen to go fight for us, for our country. The draft was instated for Vietnam, so many of those soldiers didn't want to be there, didn't want to fight. Whether we believe in the war or not, the troops deserve our support. I want to seek out ways to show my support and to be more involved in my country and those protecting our freedoms.

It was such an incredible experience. After this man finished speaking we all applauded. He very humbly said, "For them, for the guys on the Wall. I'm not a hero, They are."

Sir, for fighting for our country, for making your story known, for teaching pride of our country to your posterity, to me, you are a hero.