This piece was written by one of the members of another board. Ruger firearms fwiw, but it will be of interest to many as it was to me. Posted with his permission. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Old Man... As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty-five feet away. I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot. I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.' He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him. The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us, he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem as an overheated engine. I spoke with the old gentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?' He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off. For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name....... 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.' I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for America. Thanks to those who served & those who supported them.
Great story, we all owe these guys way more than most of us can give back. My dad is 88 now, silver star and bronze star recipiant. He is my hero!
If not for ALL of those old guys, decorated or not, we would be speaking German and probably not dabbling in our favorite hobby. God Bless them all. ...and if you happen to meet a Veteran, of any conflict, say Thanks. .
Great story ... I was in the Navy Seabees (reserves) and got to hang out with Marines on occasion ... great bunch!! I've always admired the fraternal spirit that they share that transcends time.
I have no problem calling those guys the Greatest Generation. These folks who survived the Depression and won WWII can teach us a lot about how to deal with our current mess. You may be assured they would say to work hard, share with your nieghbors and, most importantly, face it with determination and dignity. They sure weren't whiners.
Great story. Moving.It reminded me that my dad seldom talked about WWII.I did not even know he was a two time Bronze Star award soldier until I buried him in Arlington.I wish our new generation was just half as patriotic and proud as their generation.
Cool story, even if it did come from a jarhead (just kidding) I've had the privilege in my life to be exposed to quite a few men from that generation who fought across the world. The island fights to Japan, the desert wars of Africa, to the beach drops of Europe. Good men, everyone. I've gotten into more than one fight by confronting someone who was deriding an older person; at least now I have a cane and can really give 'em a whompin'...
I can relate to the story as well. My father was a dive bomber mechanic in the St Mary's Islands near the end of the war. The stories he told about the test flights after he'd made repairs. I lost him about 4 years ago. We do have to remember that WWII vet's kind of started/rekindled the Hot Rod craze in the late '40s & early 50's. Lots to thanks to them for: saving our nation & keeping HotRodding alive.
So what are we saying here? We are saying that a generation or two has come along who have reverted to an age where selfishness and disrespect are acceptable. Some us were bought up to respect older folks because they have been there and done that and nowhere did anyone give them a hand up. They had to llok for it themselves. I am reminded of one my grandparents who started work at 13 as teamster with horses ( a real teamster in the true sense of the word) and got horse kicked in the face so he had a smashed nose for the rest of his life ,he got married at 20 ,my Grandmother died at 30 from TB leaving him with three small kids to bring up on his own. One of those kids ,My Aunt, married at 16 and within a year her husband was overseas serving with the long range desert group .he didn't return home until 1947,having contracted TB in Colditz. All this time my grandfather took on a job as rail guard which he held for over 40 years retiring as a yard foreman. He then went back to work as a foreman in a printing works. Although my father ,uncle and aunt would be considered disadvantaged today,they grew to be upstanding citizens ,my aunt is in her 80's and still works!. Would todays spoiled youth consider going out and doing a mans work in order to feed themselves?. Would they lend a helping hand to someone they didn't know when they could see they were distressed?,I begin to wonder. The people who went away to fight in WW2 were incredibly young. Consider the age of those who were sent in as reinforcements during the battle of the Bulge,average age was 18 and most US troops had only 6 weeks training but they managed to kick the Nazi's arse for all it was worth. A different breed of American for sure. Take a few moments to read this to see where the west is (hopefully not) heading. http://seekingalpha.com/article/134495-obama-worse-than-bush-part-1?source=email
Never been one to brag but I did 2 yrs. in the Army from '68 to '70. Bad time to be in the war. My dad did the same during WW II. Never regreted it or looked back. If you are a good citizen you have to do these things. When the crap gets deep you have to "suit up" and get it done. Just the opinion of an old soldier. Also I drove my '53 Chevy Truck today and never enjoyed it more. Rant over!
What a generation. If you haven't read "the Greatest Generation" you need to. And there's so many more thousands of stories that will never be told...thousands. The more i think about it the more astounded I am. The sacrifices that were made, because it needed to get done. My Dads story would make a good movie.... I don't know if he ever got a "thank you". And he didn't want one, it had to be done. Not taking anything away from our current military men and women, it just seems like so many of the rest of society is ignorant about how they came to enjoy their entitled lives. Maybe there should be a program in schools, History class perhaps, that has some of the few remaining WWII vets come and tell their stories.
Great Story, C9! My grandfather served in WWII with the 2nd Marine Div. Doctors say he may not live to the end of this year, due to bone cancer. Toughest SOB I've ever known, and I've spent most my life trying to be like him...key word TRYING. I like to think for every dumbass out there, there's a veteran making up for his shortcomings. Fair? No. But do we complain?
Yes, The Greatest Generation... We should always show the respect due, for the members of our military. I appreciate the replies above, and I hope the younger genersions, can learn from the strength, and sacrafice, these people have made,
These are not frail old men. They are giants disguised as frail old men. Damn few of us in the next generation (boomers, if you will) have the grit and toughness that was pretty average in my Dad's generation.
As noted, not my story or writing. Written by another and it hit home with me because my favorite uncle was a Marine who was in many of the major island battles. He was on his third - voluntary - tour and got as far as Iwo Jima.
My father(now 79 yrs old)fought in the Korean war.He does not like to talk about it a whole lot,but from what i have concluded thru the years he was a wing gunner of some sort and received three bullet wounds while in combat.From what i have gathered from my mother he almost did not make it back home.Today he is a faithful member of the local VFW and i am a member of the local ELKS lodge.Growing up has a kid i will ALWAYS remember hanging around the VFW lodge with the ole man and somtime while they (his buddies)were knocking back what seemed to be half the coffee the Peru had produced that year i now releize that i was honered to have been there to here some of the stories these fellas would tell.At the time i thought they were just wild stories.Today when i think back I AM VERY HUMBLED and releize the true greatness that i was sorrounded by GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN VETERAN
Excellent. Moving story. Honor, respect and take care of our elders, cause someday young man that may be you.
As a fellow veteran, I appreciate your story, and thank you for sharing it with us. I am also reminded of the kindest two words you will ever share with a veteran: "Welcome Home"!
Reading that story about an old soldier who was part of the "Greatest Generation", which they absolutey were, and then watching some of the things that go on in todays society, can make you think the America they knew and fought for is gone forever. However, this country still has an un-ending line of very patiotic, full-blooded American men and women that are willing to lay their lives down for our freedom at a moments notice. The problem is the news media would rather glorify some insignificant rapper or Hollywood titwillow's love-life than show the sacrifices that are still being made by our veterans every day. Even though the days that old Marine knew may be gone, America is not, because people like him still walk amoung us.
The Jalopy Journal
