The text and photographs below came to us in an email message. We tried to contact the originator, but the person who sent the email message to the person who sent it to us had already deleted the message from his incoming mail folder. He said he had seen the photographs before, and he believed the photographs are in the public domain. If you believe you own the copyright to any of the photographs, please let us know so we can give you proper attribution. My grandfather, a WWII Veteran, placing an American flag on the grave of a soldier at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. "I brought so many of these boys over to spill their blood on this soil. I made it back alive, so many did not." Major Justin Fitch honoring his fallen brother. Photo taken six months before Justin passed away from his long battle with cancer on October 4th, 2015. See footnote. Sixteen Pearl Harbor survivors went back to Hawaii. On our final day, we took the Greatest Generation to the USS Arizona for a tribute where the men would drop rose petals into the central opening in the Arizona. Larry Parry was confined to a wheelchair for the majority of the trip. I was standing behind Larry when I heard him whisper quietly to his escort, "Miss, I may need your assistance for a moment. I'd like to try to stand up." Larry, who had lost his wife only weeks before our trip, stood up, dropped the rose petals into the gentle current to honor his fallen shipmates and was overwhelmed with emotion. Photograph by Melissa Findley. The American Flag does not fly because the wind moves past it. The American Flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died protecting it. Footnote: You can read about Major Justin Fitch's work for veterans at www.Army.mil |
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