The Greatest Generation

Today, on a bright blue cloudless Nevada day, we journeyed to The Boulder City Veteran's Cemetary about an hours drive from our house and gave a loud shout out to the deceased Veterans of the United States of America. Janae, Jake, my mom, my brother Eric and I made the trek and had an incredible experience.







As usual, for Memorial Day, a flag decorates the grave of every serviceman and woman. It is quite a site to see so many flags on display - makes the hair on your neck stand up to see the flags rippling in the wind while listening to Battle Hymn of the Republic and God Bless American rumbling over the loudspeakers. Chills. Are YOU feelin' it?



My father's burial marker like all in this particular cemetary is made out of brass. Years ago, my mother figured out that spraying the marker with WD-40 brought back the luster of the plaque and made it look brand new.

Nerdy I know.

Each time we go to the gravesite, you can bet that we have a can of the stuff in the car, along with flowers, and other decorations mom wants to use to dress up the gravesite. Mom is nothing if not efficient. Dad probably just wants us to pour suds on his grave.



Going on Memorial Day is a treat. The parking lot is always full and cars must park on the adjacent streets. It's almost like a festival and the atmosphere is extremely patriotic - people wearing red, white and blue....bikers in battalion leathers, youth groups in matching t-shirts, serious and stern young ROTC cadets, widows and widowers of every race and faith but Americans to the core.

After spending time at dad's gravesite, saying a family prayer, and my reading the poem, "Freedom Isn't Free," I wandered over toward the memorial area that honors each branch of service and witnessed a moving sight: An aged veteran soluting the granite monument that was erected as a tribute to the branch of service he served in so many, many years ago.

Seeing this old man nattily dressed in a brown suit and red, white and blue tie, proudly wearing a cap that beared his many medals and service pins was a deeply moving experience for me. I went up to him and shook his hand to express my gratitude for him and all of those men and woman of "The Greatest Generation." If not for these men and women we'd be speaking German or Japanese right now.



He was appreciative of my words and kind beyond belief. I was mesmorized by the story he began to tell..... It seems that this old veteran, hearing aids no doubt turned up to their maximum volume, hands shaking, his body weight supported by a cane was THE benefactor of the Boulder City Veteran's Cemetary.

The guy I was speaking to was Ken Brown. The same Ken Brown who bought and gifted the 83 acres of land to be used solely as a cemetary for veterans and their spouses back in the late 1980's. He'd made his money in real estate and when he learned that this piece of land was for sale, he went down the next day and bought it with the sole purpose of providing a Veteran's cemetary for Southern Nevada.

To spend even a minute with this hero would be an honor however he easily granted us some 15 minutes of his life telling stories of how the land purchase came about, the donation process, where his wife was buried in the cemetary (he knew the location by heart), his military service and how great a country America is. He became emotional speaking about the devastation of the recent oil leak in the gulf and how it affected the people living in the coastal region. I admired his compassion, was envious of his bravery, and was grateful for his courage.

By now I was completely in awe of this man - his stories, his bravery, his gift to the people of Southern Nevada, his service to his country and most of all, his honor.

This guy's DNA was made up of loyalty, courage, honor and guts. The marines credo is "Semper Fidelis," which means "Always Faithful." Maybe it's just me, but it seems like such conviction is lacking in the world today.

Where can we find such passion and commitment for our nation today? The republicans and democrats fight like children. Big business is as crooked as my drive on the first tee yesterday, and our government just keeps getting bigger, more complicated and more expensive. What's the solution?



I say we get some WWII vets in a room and let them figure it out.