My Father’s Brothers

It was a sunny day in July when the hero gave into the cancer that he had fought for a couple of years. He left behind a wife and two kids that had families of their own. He left behind his mother and two of her four children. He also left behind friends, some of which had known first hand the trials of war, just as he did.

He had two days of visitation to lie through. With his family watching over the visitors while is brothers in arms watched over him. One stood at each end of his casket. They were aged men with creaks in their spine and aches in their bones. However, there they stood, tall and straight for the hours, he lay open. Faces still, eyes straight, and pride for their kind evident in their stance.

The war that these men had shared was more then 25 years past, but it had not dimmed all that much in the minds of those who carry it with them. While many had not been in the same place and same time together, they had all known the sameness of a war they weren’t meant to win. They also all shared the knowledge that they are a dying breed.

The day the man was to be laid to rest was a Friday. It was a big day in the small town. The town parade was at noon. It kicked off the annual festival that drew in many visitors as well as the town folks. The local VVA chapter was a huge part of it. They held a duck derby every year to raise money for the different charitable activities it did through out the year.

People came from far away to take part. One family came in from Detroit. It was the man’s niece and her family. She had arrived just hours after he had taken his last breath. Just hours too late to say good-bye to him. Still she was glad to be there for those left behind.

As the fire trucks signaled the start of the parade, the family was sharing stories of the man they had known in many different ways. From stories of wild flowers to laughs over spaghetti dinners, they remembered. While they talked, the veterans stood watch. And as some openly cried, these men stood rod straight as the tears marched down their lined cheeks.