Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A simple way of saying Thanks

Not one of my best photos, but definitely one of my favorite graves. Decades ago, when I was a teenager, I found this grave in a small Point Arena (California) cemetery. I was fascinated by how young he was when he died in World War 1. Long before the internet and simple research I always wondered what happened to this small town war hero.
He was drafted and sent to New Jersey, where he contracted pneumonia and died, during basic training. Within a month of leaving home, he died. An only son. He is buried alone (the rest of his family is in Anderson (California).
It was big news when he died. The county mourned. It was on the front page of all of the papers. Unfortunately it is a common sacrifice that is being made everyday. So much for the war to end all wars nearly a century ago.
I have adopted this grave. I clear it out and make sure the weeds are cleared. I plant flowers, and cringe whenever I see that one of the bushes (like the one in this photo) has been trimmed to the point of near death. I make sure he has a flag on Memorial and Veterans Day, and do what I can to take care of it.
I have been blessed that no one in my immediate family has been killed in war (although I do come from a military family), so I have adopted this Roy and his grave. A small sacrifice of effort on my part for someone who made the ultimate sacrifice for me.
Thank you for reading :-)

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

I am back and I have photos to post :-) I will be organizing and publishing within a day!