Remembering

These two are my maternal uncles, Lowell and Elden, and my mother's older brothers. They both served during WWII, one in the air over Germany and Austria and the other on the ground making his way through France (just as his father did in WWI.) They both survived the war, but it changed their lives forever. They have both since passed on.

The blond kneeling down in the middle is Lowell posing with his USAF squadron. Lowell was the upper turret gunner on the crew of J. Thomas of the 746th. I always take pause when I realize how young they all were and how it did not end well. They were shot down on a bombing run and the survivors spent the last months of the war in a German POW camp, including my uncle.

The view out my front door early this morning.

On this day, I am grateful for all who have served and fought to save our individual freedoms. I am also grateful for Boy Scouts who rise early in the morning to plant a flag in my front yard and help me remember.