Last Friday, I went to a funeral service for my sister's neighbor, Jim. I definitely went more to support Mary and Mike (who was doing the service), but since I lived with Mary in that house before she got married, I had also been neighbors with Jim and his wife (also a Mary) for 2 1/2 years. Jim and Mary are pretty involved with Mary, Mike and the kids, so I've seen them both many times since moving out, since I'm at Mary's a lot. Jim was young, only 62, and his death was sudden. His widow, Mary, has been leaning on Mary and Mike a lot for support and Mary and Mike have really been able to show love to this woman.
Anyway, let me get to my point. When Mike was giving a sketch of Jim's life, he mentioned how both Jim and his brother had served in the Vietnam War. His brother was killed in the line of duty, so Jim was honorably discharged as the sole surviving son. For some reason, that really struck me.
I mean, I've seen Saving Private Ryan, so I guess the knowledge of that practice was somewhere in the back of my mind. But here was a real life example of the tradition and you know what? It's a good one. Think what you will of the military - sending home a son from battle because his brother(s) has been killed is the right and noble thing to do, and I'm glad our country does it. Cheesy as it may sound, I was proud to be an American.
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