Pawhuska OK USA - Opinion
Memorial Day is a time to relax away from the job and remember those who gave their lives for our country. I like to watch "Sergeant York" on Memorial Day. It helps me remember not only those who died for our country, but also those like my father who served and came back home.
Alvin C. York was a man who served in World War One. He carried on quite a bit before he got "old time religion". After that, he was described as having the "living kind of religion" not just the reading kind. He got hold of the sanctity of life from reading the scriptures.
When the President declared war on Germany and the draft was instituted, Alvin tried to ignore it all. His pastor told him he had to sign up for the draft, but Alvin didn't want anything to do with killing other people. His pastor filled out the paperwork for him to object, but the draft board couldn't approve his objection and he was drafted to serve his country.
During boot camp, his superiors were a bit skeptical about what good he could do since he tried to object. When he went through rifle training, he hit a bull's-eye every time. They couldn't figure him out. He had a conversation with his commander, and took some leave to try and figure things out for himself. He took a book about how this nation came to be, and how we've had to fight for freedom. After reading our country's history, he stayed in the armed forces and was shipped to Europe.
He wound up taking over 300 men captive in one operation - which is a story in itself. There were maybe 20 Germans killed. He explained later that to prevent more deaths, he had to kill some of the enemy. When they saw they were flanked (by him) they surrendered. He had the commander of the Germans help him get other soldiers to surrender.
Alvin York was a real person. He was a hero.
I think about how this one man saved so many lives and I think about how in today's world there are few opportunities for one man to affect so many others. But they are still there.
Who knows but that you might be in the situation you're in to help people in some way. You just can't tell how many other people's lives you can positively affect by simply doing what you know how to do. Even one person affected positively by your life makes it all worth while!
Keep on keeping on. You are more important than you might think.
Michael
