VALOR

I have been to places far and near, and seen the best and worst of mankind.

I am often seen in war, though I consider war mans ultimate folly.

I have crawled through jungles, slept in mud, marched over burning sand, and huddled in foxholes all over this world.

I have flown through flack filled skies over warring nations, and sailed the seas and oceans of the world.

I have seen men cry, scream, curse, and pray as terror surrounds them, and yes, I have seen many good men die.

I have been to far away places with strange sounding names such as Verdun, Bastogne, Hue, Inchon, Guadalcanal, and Khe Sanh.

I have been to places nearer to home, like Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, Vicksburg, Bunker Hill, and
Valley Forge.

I have witnessed these things and been to these places because of what I am.

My name is Valor, and I go where soldiers go.

You may know the ones I touch by other names. Some call them brave, courageous, or gallant.

The tales of their actions contain words like sacrifice, honor, or actions above and beyond the call of duty.

Those that you recognize for Valor you call heroes, and honor with medals and ribbons.


There are countless others who are never recognized as the heroes that they are, because their actions at the time were just another part of
the chaos that is war.

That is fine with them, they know that they did their duty and that is enough.

If you ask these heroes, those with medals and those without, about their deeds, they will make little of them. They will say such things as it was nothing,
it was my job, they needed me, or
I did what had to be done.

It has been said that in battle uncommon valor becomes a common virtue. It is true.
I touch each man in a different way
and they find the strength to go on.

If you have been in battle you have seen me. I am with the medic who refuses to leave a wounded man. I am with the lieutenant who charges a machine gun because it is killing his men.

I can be as dramatic as jumping on a grenade so that others may live, and I can be as simple as standing your ground as the horror that is battle approaches.

Some that I touch die in their actions. These heroes we remember on days like Memorial Day, when we honor those who have died in the service of
our country.

You will find their names engraved in stone on monuments, big and small, all over this country and on some foreign shores.

On special days you will see small flags on their resting places. The flag is a simple statement that says Hero.

Many that I have touched are alive today and are a part of your daily lives.

They do not think that they are special, but they are.

I say to you that there are more heroes among you than you will ever know.

I know them because I have walked with them in battle.

My name is Valor, and I go where soldiers go.


1992 - Kenneth Melkun

There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein