Yesterday I took my friend Arturo to the annual Antique
Military Vehicle exhibition at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military
History in Little Rock, Arkansas. I wasn’t sure that a young man would enjoy it, but turns out he had a
ball. Here’s a photo of him and jeep restorer David Hopkins talking about the
intricate details of the vehicle.
I liked to have not gotten him away. It took a promise of
lunch at the newly restored La Hacienda
to do the trick.
There was a great crowd at the exhibit, due in part, I’m
sure to the relatively mild weather, “mild” certainly a deserving descriptor for
the 29th day of July in central Arkansas. The exhibitors are always
a friendly group, eager to tell about their hobby.
The high point of the day came when a tall and energetic man
approached me and asked where I got my hat. It designates me as both a Navy and
Vietnam vet. I told him, and then we
talked. Turns out he was in the Navy during World War Two. I felt an honor
beyond simple honor. I wasn’t sure that would ever have the chance to converse
directly with another vet from that war. They are disappearing fast. Had he been one of the younger ones, he would
be past 90 now. I didn’t ask.
They were great ones, those men and women. I won’t say “the
greatest,” for I think greatness is as greatness does. But they were sure extraordinary.
They sacrificed, as they say, their present for our future. That’s sure a trait
that America could benefit again from.
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| A new shipmate - still a great one |
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