WWII vet touched by simple ‘thank you’
On a recent grocery store visit, my husband, Will, and I were approached by a woman and her two young children. She pointed to my husband’s ball cap, on the front of which is a B-24 Liberator, and asked if he’d served in World War II.
My 94-year-old husband said yes, he’d been a B-24 flight engineer in the South Pacific, completing 41 missions.
The woman nudged her older child, gestured to Will, and said, “This man is a hero. He fought to defend our country’s freedom, and we owe him our gratitude.”
To my astonishment, the girl, about 10 years old, approached Will.
“I’ve never met someone who was in World War II,” she said. “May I shake your hand?”
Over the years, Will and I have visited and appreciated the National WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the WWII museum in New Orleans. But the spontaneous “thank you” from another citizen — especially one of a much younger generation — means as much as any war monument a government might erect.
Barbara Bryan
Hilton Head Island
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 10:56 AM with the headline "WWII vet touched by simple ‘thank you’."