The Old Man

[marinemom]

Received this one today from a retireee - it is a great read and certainly shows that the brotherhood of the Corps never ends




As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my

Cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of

His car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.


The old man was looking at the engine. I put my

Groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from

About twenty five feet away.


I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery

Bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him

Coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old

Gentleman point to his open hood and say something.


The young man put his grocery bag into what looked

Like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man

And I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, 'You shouldn't

Even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his

Hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.


I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and

Mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine.

He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell

Her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the

Old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said,


'Looks like you're having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked

Under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond

Me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man

That I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and

Saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and

Related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if

They could follow me back down and help him.


The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a

Tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up

And thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated

Engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.


When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my

Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a

Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve

With?'


He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine

Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jim a and Guadalcanal . He had hit

All the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we

Talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the

Hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was

Stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.


He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I

Assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket.. We all

Shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back

Up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had

Interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I

Said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me.


One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the

Old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine

Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one

Of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I

Would and drove off.


For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over

And took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The

Name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his

Name....... 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'




I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading

It over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but

Myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together,

Because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it

felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been

in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for

America . Thanks to those who served...& those who supported them.



America is not at war. The U.S.

Military is at war. America is at the Mall. If you don't stand

behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!

Remember, Freedom isn't Free, thousands have paid the price

so you can enjoy what you have today.

[DAMNPROUD]

AWSOME Marinemom! thanks

[Gary Hall]

Thanks for a reassuring story Mom. I had to check out your profile and I must say I would vote for you in any contest. Not leastly, Casablanca was and remains a great story. There's so much "diversity" even on this forum I frequently have to back away for a little relief. Gung Ho, Gary Hall, Tyler, TX