An Old Man

[Texaskid]

Don't know if this is the right forum to post this in but, after reading it, it reminded

me of this site and the people that are on this site. That the people here go out of their

way to help people with their problems no matter how big or small.

 

 

 

 

This is a good read

for Memorial Day. I hope everyone had a good Holiday

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a veteran, please read this,

especially today under the conditions we are living

 

 

 

On Memorial

Day....

 

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 (overheated

engine) I spoke with

the old gentleman.

 

 

When I shook hands

with him earlier, he had noticed my

Marine Corps ring=2

0and 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.'

http://www.cmohs..org/

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

America is

not at war. The U.S..

Military is at war. America is at the Mall.

If you don't stand

behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand

in front of them!

 

Remember

, Freedom isn't

Free, thousands have paid the price

so you can enjoy what you have

today.

[SapperMedic]

Couldn't have said it better

[mkrieg]

Amen Brother!

[Redneck]

[minnmac]

semper fi

[Monty]

It is sad that there are so many that care nothing about anyone else, and they can't realize that they might not have anything today if not for these Veterans.

 

I am glad to see that someone helped him. He, like so many other Vets, was probably poor, and had an old ratty car. They deserve way more than this country does for them.

[BoomerCPO]

It is sad that there are so many that care nothing about anyone else, and they can't realize that they might not have anything today if not for these Veterans.

 

I am glad to see that someone helped him. He, like so many other Vets, was probably poor, and had an old ratty car. They deserve way more than this country does for them.

 

Well said and spot on!......And a lot of folks don't even realize that MOST of the homeless in this Country are Veterans.

 

 

Boomer.........who believes the apathy of the American people towards Veterans will come back to bite em on the a$$.

[Venturous Randy]

Well said and spot on!......And a lot of folks don't even realize that MOST of the homeless in this Country are Veterans.

 

 

Boomer.........who believes the apathy of the American people towards Veterans will come back to bite em on the a$$.

 

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto!!!

RandyA

[pnrsisk]

This one was a tear jerker for me. I'm wondering what it must have been like to be in that mans presence. I see so much of people taking our rights and all for granted. It breaks my heart to think that if good people don't start getting involved in this countries business, we might lose it all. Thanks to all of you who are and have served. God Bless all of you. Phil Sisk 1st. Cav. Vietnam 70-71 11b20 Point team

[brscooter]

I for some reason missed this post and just read it today. As an Army, Viet Nam Vet I love to make jokes about the other services, especially the Marines. But we are all one and the jokes are all in fun, even though lots of Marines do take them personaly. Thanks for this story as it brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of how much the brave men and women serving today need our support. Lyle

[RandyR]

amen,

 

The last generation when this country truly pulled together accomplished so much.