My father's sacrifice - the story of a radio spy

[EllenSchnak]

My father's job in the Air Force was to secretly listen to Russian radio transmissions and  translate them into english.  He enjoyed working nights because the food was better, lol.  The group he worked with had to pledge their lives to their cause, knowing that if something went wrong, each of them was assigned another to kill.  This was to protect their secret activities and their fellow soldiers.  Doing his job might have ended his life at the hands of an enemy or a friend, and he knew this going in.  He loved our country enough that he was willing not only to risk his own life as a sort of 'radio spy', but also knowing that the day may come when he would have to end the life of a friend as well. 

I can't imagine the preparation it must have taken to be ready for such deeds.

My dad still gets together every year or two with his buddies, but they are growing older, having health issues, and soon they will not be with us any longer.  These men deserve to be honored.  They deserve the respect they were blatantly and purposefully denied.

It's a day after Memorial Day.  I chose to wait a day to compose my thoughts so they would be clear and more from the heart than the gut...

My grandfather served in World War I.  My lovely grandmother's brother died in World War I overseas and broke her heart.  But closest to me is my father, who loves our country with an ache and longing that brings tears to his eyes.

I am saddened, disheartened, even de-moralized that our President chose not to honor fallen soldiers at Arlington this Memorial Day.  This isn't a political view on my part, it's just the feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that these brave men pledged and gave their lives for our country, yet their leader didn't have time for them. This is the first year since the inception of Decoration Day that the President (and their military leader) chose not to be present at Arlington and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

When I heard this I literally became nauseous.  Then I got angry.

Arlington is more than just another cemetery.  Arlington is a memorial.  It represents every soldier, every soldier's family and friends, and every family and friend who has lost a soldier.  Arlington represents our country and the sacrifices of every American soldier from the beginning of our country's history until now.  Arlington represents ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.  It represents our country's struggle for survival, and its victory.  To my knowledge, it is the largest memorial in the country, and one of the most revered.  Arlington represents our freedoms, and our sacrifices as a nation.  All this is why it is considered such an honor to be buried there...

...and such a dishonor when it is ignored. 

When our President and their Comander-in-Chief ignored them yesterday, he made a very, very bad choice.  Whatever his reasons were, they will never outweigh the sacrifices of those hundreds of acres of white crosses and the tomb of soldiers whose names we don't even know - those men who have no family to mourn their passing and their ultimate and final sacrifice.  

To those families and friends of American soldiers, past and present - you may have been ignored by the current President, but you were not ignored by the people your soldiers pledged their lives to protect.

God bless you, each and every one.