Sunday evening Bobbi and I returned from a long day watching the Royals and grandson Isaac play baseball to find the TV offerings limited until I noticed Memorial Day Concert listed on PBS.
Thinking good music and patriotism I gave it a try. Wow and wow! It was good so more on the concert later.
Steve Sauder is not a veteran, but he is well aware of the sacrifices made by his friends that did serve and hopefully is appreciative to a proper level.
I often wonder if fortunate is the right word to describe my not serving in the military. By virtue of passing only 11 hours at KU my second semester, I did qualify to be drafted and did ride the train to Kansas City and did take the standard pre-induction physical exam.
I carried with me that day a note from Dr. Lohmeyer who had recently performed surgery on my left knee saying I had “a 10% permanent disability” from my knee injury.
Had I passed that physical I would have faced the same decision many of my friends we facing – be drafted, enlist or join the National Guard. Obviously, my life would have been altered in a major way.
So, on occasions like Memorial Day, I am reminded that there were many who did serve and that I – like many others are indebted to them in a way not easily described, so a heartfelt thank you is the best I can offer.
That brings us back to that Memorial Day Concert on PBS.
Bobbi and I watched it without comment from nearly an hour and we both wiped tears away on several occasions.
This concert told stories from most of the conflicts in which Americans have been involved. They offered facts about timelines and numbers of lives lost using re-enactments by professional actors to tell about the thoughts and experiences of veterans and survivors. They were amazingly effective.
One portrayed the young widow of a soldier killed in Iraq. She said her husband who had enlisted promised her he’d call her every day which she said: “he did until the day he didn’t.” She said she made up excuses for not getting his call until the next day when she got the call she was dreading.
We do a great deal in Emporia to honor our veterans as we should. I hope I am never guilty of taking their service for granted. Veterans deserve far more than they have gotten so let’s keep honoring them, not just on Memorial Day or Veterans Day, but on every day.
Finally, about that Memorial Day Concert that touched Bobbi and me so much – it is available online at pbs.org. Once more at pbs.org. Have your tissues handy because it is very emotional.
Thank you veterans for your service.
I am a very humble Steve Sauder.
