Thank you for facing the unspoken terror of battle.
Thank you for pressing forward into the dark, not knowing whether you and your mates would see the next sunrise.
Thank you for choosing to risk your life so that others might be able to pursue God, vote, and go to school.
Thank you for the many times you were humiliated by your commanders and chose not to be bitter or resent them.
Thank you for sacrificing years of your life so that the South Koreans could live in freedom.
Thank you for modeling courage to my sons.
You were so young and innocent when you climbed on board that boat heading to Asia. Growing up in a farming community with an intact family simply could not prepare you for the next phase of your life. What happened to you and in you as an eighteen-year-old continues to impact you sixty years later: demons still haunt you, sudden noises cause you to flinch, nightmares refuse to let you forget what you try so hard to leave behind. If I could take that all away–for you and every veteran who struggles to be free from the horrors of war–I would. In truth, there is little I can do except pray for God’s peace to fall upon you and remind you that your actions were of inestimable worth and will not be forgotten.
