The Catholic Defender: deepertruth's tribute to Memorial Day

The Rosary Patrol is expected to begin on 4 June 2012, tonight, deepertruth is doing a tribute for our Soldiers. 

Growing up, I didn’t really get the chance to get to know my oldest Brother, David.

He was 6 years older than I was and very involved in sports when I was still in grade school. David was a standout wrestler and football player.

I grew up following his footsteps in playing sports, but I never had some of the opportunities he had, especially football.

He was a great football player who had much potential, almost went into pro-football before he joined the Marine Corps.

The Marines changed is life forever. He served in Viet Nam and been in several skirmishes, my Mother spoke of the time he had been lost in the jungle getting separated from his patrol due to a “Firefight”.

He had to survive and make his way back while being in enemy territory. That was never easy as you could not light a fire in the bush, you could invite someone you do not want to welcome into your camp. Plus there are alot of traps set out that could kill you in the jungle.

David would survive Viet Nam, but he didn’t survive the anti-war climate that was everywhere. When David’s enlistment was completed, he began going to a local college trying get his life back in order. Everytime he would drive into town, the local police would always mess with him. They would harass him, reminding me of the movie, “First Blood” with Sylvester Stallone.