Only Three Still Remain…

I love to talk to just about anyone who is willing to tell their life story, and to share their experiences and what helped shape them as people.

I especially relish the opportunity to talk to our nation’s war veterans and get a glimpse of what life was like for them in time of war — their thoughts, emotions, how communication with friends and family was difficult, etc.

So naturally, I was thrilled to volunteer for a video shoot that I will do Sunday. I will have the distinct honor of doing a video story on the Ozarks chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors.

The Pearl Harbor Survivor group regularly meets at various restaurants in the Springfield area, and they use the time to catch up with one another and continue forging bonds that have been made for years. Each person at the table carries a treasure trove of stories and real life experiences that someone like myself, who has grown up in a vastly different world than the one they knew when they were my age, would absolutely love to hear.

This Sunday, there will only be three Pearl Harbor survivors at the table. They have voted to disband their group, because only those three still remain. Time has preserved their memories, yes — but time has also called the names of ones who survived one of the turning points in America’s history, yet could not survive the one thing that will eventually call each of us as well.

I am honored to be able to shoot the story Sunday and I am sure it is something I will take with me to my grave. Especially since I went to Iraq and experienced a war firsthand, I have had a desire to speak with those who were part of America’s Greatest Generation.

Look for the video to go online this Monday. I will be shooting it for News-Leader.com, but will link to it here.

Oh, and I am bringing an entire box of Kleenex. I am positive that I will cry, and not just once.

And in a setting such as this, that’s perfectly okay.