Take time to remember those we have lost.

Just a quick note because of the weekend holiday - It is Memorial Day. Maybe you saw Rolling Thunder and the thousands and thousands of motor cycles to honor our service men and women. Maybe it's your yearly trip to the cemetery to spend time and reflect upon those we have lost My mother goes to my fathers, sister and nephew's grave this time of the year.

My dad has been gone a long time now - he was a quiet man - did not really speak much - but he taught me sports from before I could walk and was always at my games - even coached little league baseball. He taught all of us hard work and honest effort.

He enlisted in the Air Force during World War II - he wanted to be a pilot, In the entry physical they discovered he was colored blind - he did not know - so he was stuck as a bomber gunner - and flew way too many missions - where he lost most of the friends he had enlisted with. It was miserable work - no heat - long long flights - and lots of enemy fire that killed many many on board with him. He never talked about it - but he would never fly again and told people that. He ruptured his aorta heart valve later in life and was bleeding out - he refused to board the life flight helicopter - but was forced to do so - he was without lower body blood flow for some time - he should have died - but he was a tough old guy and survived and lived for many more years.

He spent his whole life in our small town of Mars, PA. He really never went out much after he quit playing baseball almost to 40 - but on his death bed with liver cancer - half the town came to visit him at our home before he passed...and his funeral had the whole town and people he had worked for all his life - hundreds - his sevice was overflowing and there was no place to put people - he really had just one job for one company for 40 years. All of that is rare today.

So today I think of him and remember how much he influenced my life and made me what I am today.

A second short story - my tennis partner from high school - the person I spent the most time with in high - dropped out of college - he got drafted and went to Vietnam as a sniper. Several of us vowed to never do drugs - I kept my word - he was not able to -but I also was not drafted - nor did I serve.

My friend shipped out with only one other person from his sniper training class. The first day that man had his head blow off standing next to my friend. That was his introduction to his active service. He contracted Malaria while there and also began doing some drugs - mostly pot.

When he came home - he had changed - there was no talk of the various syndromes that are used on service people today. But - he had changed and is still changed. I can not imagine what they went through. My friend and I have never been close since then - we are cordial and talk once in a while - but nothing like it used to be.

So for those we have lost and those who still serve - us, non-service people, can not comprehend what they went through. We many times don't take the time to thank them for what they do. A very small percentage of our population have taken it upon themselves to protect our freedoms. We should appreciate it.

Enjoy your weekend - but take time to remember what this day is for.

Dave Kerchner