SACRIFICE
My brother was named John after our father. He was the first of six children born to a poor rural family in DeKalb County, Alabama in 1926. At an early age the family moved to Trion, Georgia so my father could get work in the textile mills. Later, the family to Summerville for the same reason. My brother grew to manhood in small-town Georgia.
After finishing school at eighteen he fell in love with an Alabama girl. They eloped and were married in Raising Fawn, Georgia. Soon after marriage he was drafted into the army. Basic training in Florida and he was shipped to the European theater for active duty.
During the winter of 1944 he was involved in an intense battle in northern Germany where he was mortally wounded and died. At an age when most young people today are preparing for college, tech school, or a job my brother had already paid the “ultimate sacrifice” for his country.
My father received the telegram at the mill and ran all the way home with tears in his eyes to tell our family the news that “John has been killed”.
I will never forget the grief our family suffered over my brother’s death. He was buried overseas and none of our family has been able to visit his grave. Our brother gave so much for his country. ( Taken from ”Our Family Magazine”)
How many families today have experienced the death of a loved one defending our liberty in a foreign country? How many brilliant young men and women have sacrificed their lives so that each of us can enjoy our most precious gift……FREEDOM!!
Our country is at a crossroads. Do we continue to be a free, prospers, and happy people or do we go the way of nations before us and lose it all because we will not sacrifice for our freedom.
We may not be called upon to sacrifice our lives for the freedom of our country, but we can sacrifice. We can support elected officials and candidates who stand for our values. We can work to see these values and freedoms are not abridged in any way. We can be forth-right and honest in all of our dealing with fellow Americans. We can put ourselves third, our fellow countrymen second, and our God first.