Meet Leonard

Leonard is 90-something and lives on our street. We had quite the unusual first meeting. The kids and I were with some friends at a small park when a pair of boots sticking out of the ditch caught my eye. I then realized there was a body attached to those boots. I assumed it was a city worker unclogging the ditch, until I saw the body struggling. We ran over to the ditch and saw a very old man just lying in the ditch. We could see that he had fallen…say it with me, now…and couldn't get up.

We gently pulled him out of the ditch and helped him to a bench to sit. Who knows how long he had been lying there...he had been walking to the Senior Citizens center to eat his "dinner" (lunch) when he fell in that "canyon" (he said). We called an ambulance since he was having trouble walking and breathing, but while we were waiting, we visited with him. He told us who he was, where he lives, and that he was an army veteran. Leonard defined himself as a veteran. He unzipped his jacket to show us his dog tags, the purple heart, and presidential citation he earned while fighting in World War II for five years.

Yesterday we called on our veteran friend. He told us about being stationed in Fiji, Guadalcanal, Burma, and other places. Leonard was, of course, wearing his military medals. President Roosevelt pinned the presidential citation medal on him for spending more than 10 months behind enemy ("Jap") lines. He was shot five times and has the bullet hole scars to prove it. He told of walking more than 1000 miles in Burma; he even bought an elephant for $100 because he was so tired of walking. He had to let it go, though, when they came to a bridge made only of bamboo and the elephant certainly couldn't cross it. He jokingly said when he was in northern Africa, he could smell the spaghetti cooking in It'ly.

Our visit made his day, he told us ("My army buddies wouldn't believe it, these beautiful young girls coming to see me!"), but chatting with him truly made my Veterans Day. Leonard, please stay out of the ditches.
To Leonard and others who defended our country long ago*, and to Brigham** and others who are currently defending liberty, here's a big THANK YOU for the incredible sacrifices you make daily.

* Wanna know what's sad? Leonard left the army in 1945. He received his first pension check from the government last month, October 2008. ("The government's slow!" he says) Ya think?

** I cannot WAIT to see you and give you a big hug. Counting down!