This last week we remembered those who gave their all in the face of the enemy. They were the ones who were willing to go and to fight the fight for their country. It is easy to think that this does not matter anymore but when you know someone who was there it makes it all that little bit different. I think of the ones that I have known over the years and the stories that they did tell. And the stories that they tell make the whole situation come alive.
What do I mean by this? I think some of the persons that I knew who were involved in the wars that have taken place. One of these persons were one of the Rats of Trobruk. He never spoke much about it but the point that he would make was that war was an awful thing. Another was in the navy and he was also in the subs. He would tell of the times when they would be down on the ocean floor for hours on end and not daring to move for the enemy was above them looking for them, and if they were found they knew that they would be blown out of the water. I think of a third army person who was in the war also and he spoke of being in Jerusalem for Christmas day. It would be an experience that he would never forget. When I was much younger there were a couple of persons that I knew who were actually two of the Anzacs.
But the thing that we need to remember is that for the many that came home there were many more who did not return and who were lost. For their families there was to be no reunion party. Just nothing. Does that mean that they did not matter? No and for that reason we stop and remember the sacrifice that they gave in the giving of their lives for their country. And for us who remain, how we all need to appreciate anew what they have done and determine anew that their deaths will not be in vain. Lest we Forget!
Maybe something for us all to ponder at this time. Until next time may you each be kept safe in His care.
