Heroes
Dedicated to Cecil Whisman
1925 - 2002
Scoutmaster for 40yrs
by Scoutmaster Billy S
I know a lot of heroes. But please do not tell them that or dare call them that. They do not believe they are heroes but survivors.
This Greatest Generation, as they are called and rightfully so, did save the world. At a point in time, they decided that what this country was, had been and could be was worth preserving and, yes, dying for.
But something odd happened with the men and women of that generation when they came home from World War II.
They not only came home with pride, love of country and a sense of achievement for what they had accomplished overseas, but they returned with a new zest for life, a respect for death but most importantly, a deep desire to improve themselves and their communities. They started families and raised their children in the new hard-fought-for peace.
In improving their stock in life, they volunteered. They coached Little League. They refereed junior high school basketball games, taught Sunday School, organized swimming classes at the YMCA and started Boy and Girl Scout troops. They made a difference. They influenced our lives.
We Baby Boomers have been exposed to their love of country and spirit of life. It has very reverently been passed to us through the years. We must pass that on.
Every few years, our values, our ideals and our freedoms are questioned or tested. We are being challenged now. Certainly, our lives have changed since 9/11. How much will they change in the future?
History tells us that some of the answers are in the past.
A little over half a century ago, our very existence was in question. A whole generation stepped up and took on the world. Could the next generation do that? I believe it could meet the challenge.
The Greatest Generation's days, sad to say, are numbered. They are dying at the rate of 1,500 a day.
I have friends in the American Legion, VFW and Boy Scouts of that generation, some of the best fellows you would ever want to meet. They are up in years and many have fragile health. But you had better not call them heroes. They are survivors.
But, yes, they are heroes.
Copied from The State Journal, Letters to the Editor, Frankfort, Kentucky, February 10, 2002