*First let me say that I found out a while back that you can actually plagiarize yourself. Yep, kinda crazy, but apparently you can. So, to be on the safe side, let me say that this was published by the Opelika-Auburn News on Memorial Day about a decade ago. I wrote it. But apparently that is not important. So here it is...a column that was published years ago in Auburn/Opelika, Alabama by the Opelika-Auburn News...
One Day of Thanks is Not Enough
An open letter of appreciation:
I know you don't know me, but I've heard a lot about you -- good things.
It seems only appropriate that I talk to you today when everyone in the United States is remembering men and women like you.
When your ship, the USS Indianapolis, sank after two hits from a Japanese submarine in World War II, I wasn't even born yet. In fact, the son you never knew was only six weeks old.
I wish you could have joined us at all of those family reunions at Kentucky Lake --- those were the best times. Lazy, hot summer days spent just catching up with everybody, swimming, playing cards and pigging out on barbecue and Mississippi mudcake.
You would have loved those reunions --- except for maybe some of the video presentations. My grandparents didn't want any of the family to miss out on my dance recitals.
Nothing like the whole family watching you tap dance in a purple satin costume.
All of my cousins and I used to make your son, Earl, play hide-and-seek with us. We didn't mind that he was a grown-up --- he was a master at it! Sometimes he would even hide my shoes where I couldn't find them for hours.
Earl Jr. and your wife, Jane, spend a lot of time with me growing up-- lots of holidays and weekends. They've meant a lot to me through the years and you would be very proud of them. Jane went on to teach and eventually worked at Veterans Hospital in Nashville. Earl Jr. served in the Army and was an officer at a bank.
Oh, and you might be interested to know Earl. Jr. is marketing and selling prints of all of those paintings you used to mail home from the ship. I have the one of the American Eagle in my bedroom.
I wish you could have been here to see it all, especially your family. Jane and Earl are both very caring, good people. And I know they deeply miss you. Your family has meant a lot to me --- and your memory lives on.
It's so hard for me to fathom the sacrifice you and so many others made. I should take the time every single day, not just today, to stop and remember. But I'm ashamed to admit that, like most people, I don't. We go about our daily routines and our busy lives not ever stopping to think about what you did for us.
We should remember you when we're driving to any church we choose on Sunday morning, when we're voting for our leaders or even when we're listening to David Letterman make jokes about the president.
We can work in the place of our choice, and we can support or protest any cause. You and so many others have given us the ultimate gift -- freedom.
You did not die in vain.
What I'm awkwardly trying to say to you and all the others who gave their lives seems so inadequate, but here goes. Thank you.
You died so this country could be the best in the world.
So to you, my great uncle -- Lt. Cmdr. Earl O. Henry-- and all the others who made the ultimate sacrifice to make the United States what it is today -- we salute you, we thank you and we remember you.
And we always will.
