Remember military heroes.
Here is my column from The Oklahoman, originally published on Memorial Day.
It’s Memorial Day, and people everywhere are firing up grills and enjoying an extra day off work. But the day is for more than eating hot dogs and opening the pool for the season. It’s a day to remember those who have died serving our nation in the military.
Since 2003, more than 80 Oklahomans have died serving our nation in the Middle East. I don’t know many military families, but my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones. And I say “thank you” for your sacrifice.
In my small family, almost everyone served in the military. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska, where both my parents were stationed in the Air Force.
My grandfather Wilburn “Bud” Warlick signed on with the Navy when he was 16 (he lied about his age). About 10 years later, by then a seasoned soldier, Grandpa and Grandma (Edna Mae Warlick) were newlyweds stationed at Pearl Harbor. The morning of the attacks, Dec. 7, 1941, they awoke to ear-shattering explosions. Grandpa quickly dressed and dashed outside to see what was happening.
What he saw was the horror of dozens of Japanese airplanes bombing the ships docked in Pearl Harbor.
In short order, Navy buses came through the housing areas, picking up all the military personnel and putting them on the surviving ships to get them out of harm’s way. And so it was that Grandpa walked out the door one beautiful Sunday morning, and Grandma did not see or hear from him for nine long months.
Finally, a letter came from him, letting Grandma know he had survived. He couldn’t say where he was, but he did tell her to “go to Marshall’s furniture store and buy a new couch.” Since there was no such store on Oahu, Grandma deduced that he was in the Marshall Islands, which turned out to be true.
Thankfully, Grandpa made it through the war, and six years later, my mom was born. Twenty-five years after that, I was born. A few years ago, my mother took an emotional pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor several years ago. She floated a lei off the bow of the Arizona, amid the stacks of ghost ships never raised and seamen who never saw their wives and children again.
I hope that Memorial Day is a reminder to you to think every day about and appreciate our country’s heroes, whether fallen or not. Grandpa and Grandma have been gone from this earth for many years now but I thank them for their sacrifices just as I thank all those serving our country now.
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