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He was our neighbor when I lived in Louisana. He was a great guy. He always seemed full of love and always gave me and my sister candy, which was safe to do in those days. (At least in my part of the world.)
One night my sister and I spent the night at his house when his grand-daugther was over visiting, which was really quite a lot.
In the middle of the night, I woke up to screaming in the other room; Mr Eddie's room.
Being a kid, I didn't know what to do. Oh, it seemed to last forever, but it was probably only a minute or two. Through the walls, I could hear his muted screams of terror and rage. It was the single more frightening moment of my life. I laid there, feeling as though I were being cut to ribbons by the howls of suffering.
I said nothing to Mr Eddie the next day. I grabbed my little overnight bag my mom had packed and headed for the door, assuring myself that I would never return to that hellish place again.
I told my dad about what had happen. The screams, the fear that I heard- that I felt. I told him that Mr Eddie was nuts.
My dad has never hit me for anything that I didn't rightly deserve, but at the moment I made that comment about Mr Eddie, I could see the anger in my dad's eyes. His words cut me to the quick, "NEVER say that about Mr Eddie again." Then he walked away from me.
A few hours later, Dad came back and said that he was sorry for being angry with me. He explained that Mr Eddie had been is a war and the screams I heard had probably been caused by nightmares.
"He had to spend time in a camp with soldiers like him," my dad explained as best he could to a child. "The people who held them did awful things to them."
"But they got saved, right?" I asked.
He dad sighed. "Some did, honey, but some got left behind."
I remember thinking to myself, "Americans would never do that."
Years later, I learned I was wrong.
This page is for those that have lost more than we can ever repay. The American's greatest who still served their country proundly in the darkest of hours.
May God forgive us and may we always remember that some gave all.
I'd also like to thank Free Patriotic Graphics for their contributions. Please, support our POW's and MIA's. Take a piece of art work and put it on your web site. It's not that hard. Even I can do it.
A Poem by Jennifer Moore
You Stood for all that we held dear
Yet when you returned, you were held in contempt
We gave you nothing when you gave all
And we soiled your memory and mocked your cause
Our heart now long to somehow undo the damage we've done,
But we cannot change the days that have passed
Nor can we erase the the tears you've shed
But we make this promise to you as we live and breath
Your name will not be forgotten, your memory lost
And we will honor you now as we never did in life
Most of all, we make this promise to you;
We will bring from the men we forgot
God Bless the Veterans on the Vietnam War.
For more sites related to what you can do to help the our Veterans or to learn more about POWs and MIAs, visit Links2go.com
