To One of the Brave
Lucian B. Watkins - 1878-1920
Though forty-five long years, you say,
Have silvered o'er your head with gray,
Your friends rejoice, to-day, that you
Stand hale and hearty in your "blue."
Long for Old Glory you have stood
With truest sense of brotherhood;
Long may you live a useful life—
Noble and true in peace of strife.
The photo in this post is of Enola Gay, the legendary B29 Fortress bomber from World War II, which is now housed at the Smithsonian Annex with many other amazing flying machines. I didn’t have many other photos. But the reason I picked this... not to glorify dropping something so ultimately destructive as an atom bomb BUT if you notice folks in the bottom right, those were veterans of different wars who were there as a group, recalling their own war experiences, and also being guided by seniors who were from post WWII era and were very knowledgeable about the details of the last days of war. It was surreal to hear firsthand these experiences, and feeling awed by their presence.
There is much that we need to change in America. Most of that is about the people. We need to do better for our veterans, those who stand a post for us and when they come home they don’t always get the support and care they need.
To all the veterans I know, and those I don’t, thank you for your service.