Memorial Day
I know Memorial Day is for remembering all those who died in service. But for me I think of my friend Harvey. Harvey was a young 19 year old with a girlfriend when he was shipped out to France in WWII. Seventy years later he became my friend.
Harvey was a customer at my pharmacy. He was one of my favorites though I shouldn’t say that. He was short in stature but man he had a heart of gold. Harvey left his girlfriend to go to war and married her when he returned. They were never blessed with children. She developed dementia and I would see Harvey driving through terrible snowstorms because they had lunch together every day.
As time went on Harvey would share with me and even more with Eric about his time in WWII. He would tell of a time his platoon drove through fog that was so thick they had no idea if the enemy was right in front of them. He told of a battle that the dead were left for 30 days and “it was getting a little ripe there”. Harvey talked of this French woman who took him under her wing. They couldn’t communicate in language but she would feed him and wash his clothes.
As Harvey was reaching his last days Eric and I went to visit him in the nursing home. He wore the same smile he always gave us. But then Eric asked him more questions about his days at war. For the first time ever I saw Harvey get really emotional. He talked about why he always wondered why he came home when so many others lost their lives there. Harvey felt very guilty about coming back and marrying “his girl” while others never made it back. A few weeks later Harvey left here to join his fellow soldiers.
That summer Eric and I went to a youth conference. It was a powerful weekend. On the last day Eric pulled me aside very upset. In a time of prayer he said Harvey was with him but not as the old man we knew but as a young soldier in uniform. Eric apologized to Harvey that we weren’t there enough but Harvey just told him that he loved him.
So this Memorial Day I will pray and think about all those soldiers who served with Harvey that never made it back home. And I will be thankful that Harvey was a powerful influence in our lives to teach us personally about a time and a sacrifice before we were born.
