With Camp Dorothy in full swing and Hiram laid up with a pinched sciatic nerve, there wasn’t time to attend any Memorial Day commemorations. Still, my thoughts strayed to friends and family members who served our country to protect the freedom I often take for granted. Here are the top ten reasons I was thankful on Memorial Day.

10.  Mr. Criswell – The father of Katie, one of my best friends in high school, was a WWII vet. I’m thankful for his pride in and the honor his family has for his service to our country.

9.   Great-great-grandpa Fred Hess – Fred served in the Union Army for the entire Civil War. I’m thankful for his letters home which his wife Tabitha saved.

8.   Marvin Conrad – I’m thankful Uncle Marvin participated in the Minnesota Honor Flight to Washington DC a few months before his death in 2010.

7.   Ronnie Fielder – This young man from our church the same year as our daughter, Anne. I’m thankful he’s safely home and going to school on the GI Bill.

6.   Hugo (Burnell) Hagen – My great-uncle on Dad’s side regaled us with tales of his WWII service in Alaska. I’m thankful his unit held regular reunions in Las Vegas for decades so he could rave about what a showman Liberace was.

5.   Ordel Rogen – Uncle Ordel farmed within 2 miles of his birthplace…except for the years he served in the army during WWII. I’m thankful he came home and married my mother’s sister Ruth.

4.   Harold Walker – I’m thankful Hiram’s uncle continues to write and publish accounts of his years as a WWII fighter pilot in the Pacific theater. His story of seeing the Enola Gay take off before bombing of Hiroshima makes that terrible far off event seem close at hand.

3.  Leo Hess – Uncle Leo tells amazing, horrendous stories of fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. I’m thankful he dodged enemy fire and caught up with his platoon, despite the shrapnel in his foot.

2.  Jim Hoey – Uncle Jim served as a medic in the Korean War. During his years as a second father to my siblings and I, Dad’s faithful friend, a fix-it man for Mom, and my high school World History teacher, he rarely spoke of time overseas. I am so thankful for his service and his safe return as his presence enriched my life in innumerable ways.

1.  David Philo – Hiram’s dad repaired radios in WWII planes. In the 1990s he took our family to the Dayton Airplane Museum to show our kids one of the planes whose radio he repaired – the plane assigned to Vice-President Harry Truman during WWII. I’m thankful he got to show his grandchildren a piece of his life history.

Who were you thankful for on Memorial Day? Leave a comment to honor the special soldiers in your life.