Descendants CornerSpring, 2003
He also looked forward to the 390th reunions…and seeing his friends. I attended one of those reunions with my parents…it was at WPAFB in Dayton. I recall we ate in the Air Force Museum and I was blessed to meet many of you……and I truly felt I was among heroes! I teach at Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio and each Veteran’s Day elect to show Pistol Packin’ Mama to my advanced Human Anatomy students. This year I once again gave my students the opportunity to see just what was sacrificed during World War II – to see a glimpse of the horror of war…and the bravery that kept this country free. Following is student Kirby Faulkner’s comments regarding The Pledge of Allegiance. I thought you might enjoy reading what a typical high school junior feels when she recites the pledge each Monday at our school here in rural Ohio. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Our pledge…just what is it saying? This is the issue I wish to address today. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.” (This statement is when each citizen promises loyalty to the United States.) “and to the Republic for which it stands” (In this part of the pledge, each man/woman gives their loyalty to the morals and basic principles this country was founded upon.) “one nation, under God, indivisible” (It is here I believe people are pledging loyalty to the higher power and each other. It shows the want and need for the people to unify.) “with liberty and justice for all” (This is where a few of the country’s basic principles come into sight for all to see.) Sadly, I believe very few people ever stop to think about what they are REALLY saying when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It has become something that is programmed into our memories. I believe the Pledge is taken to a new level of understanding for all who serve our country in any form of combat. I think this was obvious by the emotion of the men in the “Pistol Packin’ Mama” video. What true heroes!! I do not believe it should take a war, or a terrorist attack, to be passionate about our country! Many of my students have shared beautiful comments regarding this movie…and with your permission I will share their thoughts from time to time. But a Descendant’s Corner is a little niche in this bulletin for YOUR stories…YOUR stories about your loved one! Please feel free to email words…wonderful words…that will share a memory with all who read and love the Square J! Several wonderful people have responded already and their stories will be featured in future bulletins! Please be a part of this and send your remembrances and stories…we are so excited to receive them. I recently read an incredible article entitled “Defend Civilization Itself” by Mark Helprin, contributing editor for the Wall Street Journal. He was talking of defending freedom on many fronts. While in Venice last summer, he was walking from room to room in the Accademia, a wonderful museum, where windows were wide open to light and air. He said the light and air brought the greatness and truth of the Bellinis and the Giogiones on the walls to a new plateau. The galleries were also flooded with music that day. As with most everything in Italy, it was rather unofficial. He continued…. “It was coming from a guitarist and a soprano on a side street. He played while she sang – gloriously – Bach, Handel, Mozart, and anonymous folk songs of the 18th Century. Because it was music, I cannot properly convey to you how beautiful it was, but it was accomplished, precise, and infused with the ineffable quality that lifts great art above that which merely aspires to or pretends to be great art. I could not see them from the windows, but when, several hours later, I went outside, they had neither ceased, nor skipped a beat, nor produced a single false note. They were impoverished Poles, who appeared to be in their late twenties. She was thin, sharp-featured, and hauntingly beautiful. Most people simply passed them by, some dropped a few coins in a basket at her feet, and the visitors to the Accademia had no idea who they were, but she sang as if she were bathed in the footlights of La Scala, where she should have been, and where someday she may be. It did not matter that they were unrecognized, that they sang on the street, or that they were desperately poor, because that day in Venice they rose above everyone else, except perhaps the saints. In this they shared a brotherhood with the American soldier who made the first parachute jump, in the dark, into Afghanistan. For they and he were defending the civilization of the West, and they and he are inextricably linked. Without the soldier, they could not exist except in subjugation, and without them, he would not have enough to fight for!” What incredible words….they paint a picture of the precious gift of life…of diversity…of excellence….of the will to live….of the will to be free. Please send your words, thoughts, joys, and remembrances to mward@ctcn.net. We are also looking at re-naming this area of the Square J. If you have an idea you wish to share, please do so! May we NEVER forget the sacrifices…or the love and joy….the men of the 390th gave to us all. Marcia Balmut Ward |
Spring is right around the corner here in Ohio! My father, Henry Balmut, was quite an accomplished gardener. This was the time of year he would be eagerly planning his garden…the potato rows, the onions, the carrots and radishes, strawberries, black raspberries. The fragrant smell of the earth is an incredible thing. Daddy had a wonderful garden…and he looked forward to spring rains, the sun and the warm earth…and the growth he knew would follow. It was such a wonderful time of renewal!!