Yes, they’ve always meant well not knowing how close I came to be a prisoner of war, death, or how eventually the awarding of a Purple Heart couldn’t console me having failed to keep a few more of my buddies from coming home. I thought about this sitting among my peers during our annual Black History month program at church; the privilege saw tears of gratitude looking at all of them knowing in THEIR hearts that the malady of being sent to serve in a war at great distance be it in a physical sense, spiritually, or economically. It harbors concern and how it could raise questions of the real meaning of patriotism, shared purposes, and pointedly—asking after all of these years is it still relevant? At times I also think about the wherewithal of us who’ve put our lives on the line and having someone thank us for having the courage to not be afraid in combat. Thank God for my faith in the Lord! I hereby salute personally myth peers who understand my lament in this essay who I know served but may not be recognized for their patriotism. My apologies to those that I missed.

    The program was a success as personnel from the United States Army, the leathernecks and Jar Heads of the Marine Corps, the Fly Boys from the Air Force, and attached Reservists. Albeit, I even had several from the Navy who called me and expressed regret for not being able tole part of the recognition regimen. The highlight of the program were the research done with brief vignettes and snippets of relative information about each service branch, including the heroic deeds from the Buffalo Soldiers, The Tuskegee Airmen, the Korean Conflict’s the Red ball Express and the significant recollections of those who had members of their families that were Buffalo Soldiers. Fellow church member, Dorothy Sparks glowed when recalling the deeds, exploits and wit of her father, J.C. Hardemon. McCall subsequently found out that his dad also was part of those famous horsemen. His testimony was classic. Not to be undone, our youth represented, namely, Malik Holmes one of a dedicated youth who gave an outstanding rendition of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Then there was young miss Endia Sparks (and yes! J.C. Hardemon was her great-grandfather!) who recited a specialized version of Sojourner Truth’s ‘Ain’t I A Woman’ speech. To all participants I Thank you for YOUIR service!