Building Monuments.

One of my old friends long dead was a highly decorated Army officer previous to and during World War II. He was a cavalryman in the early 1930's and during World War II functioned as General Patton's armored recon commander, but refused to take a rank higher than Captain, the rank being a field rank; one who commands troops in the field.

He simply hated the rank of Major, the next rank above Captain, stating that he had known to many worthless Majors, and even though he defied General Patton he kept the rank of Captain throughout his career so that he could continue to command troops in the field. I am one of the few people who have actually seen his awards for military service, and they were mind boggling in their type and quantity, but he always refused to display them for anyone else to see except his few close friends.

When I first met Mike he had recently purchased a house belonging to a retired Air Force Colonel and according to Mike this Colonel had built a "shrine" unto himself in his living room where visitors could behold his many military accomplishments. Mike looked down his nose in total distain towards this man because of this pretentious display. In Mike's estimation his service to his country was accolade enough, he didn't need to show his medals to impress others.

This morning I was feeling particularly low and for some reason I was drawn to a military monument that displays the name and rank of service men and women who served in the military from World War II to the present, engraved on marble plaques that are mounted on a wall in a park located near the Colorado River in Yuma. Although I have driven by the monument site countless times, this is the first time I have ever stopped to inspect the plaques, hoping I guess that I might find the name of former associates that I served with in the United State Marine Corps.

At this time there are what looks to be about five hundred plaques in place on the wall, with room for perhaps several thousand more to be added in the future. A person who served in the military can verify their service by presenting thier DD-214 paperwork to organizers of the monument and then for a price can purchase a plaque that will then be mounted on the wall. I slowly walked through the monument reading only the names of those who served in the U.S.M.C. with great emotion, and was disappointed to not find the names of anyone I knew, until almost at the very end of the plaques I found the name of Lance Corporal M. Whitman.

M Whitman. had worked for me when I was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps and to be kind, he was quite possibly the worst Marine imaginable, and an even worse man. He caused me untold problems as his supervisor, and was one who just barely was able to keep himself out of the brig the entire time I knew him. When I saw his name on that plaque I started laughing until my sides hurt, for of all the good men I associated with in the Marine Corp he has always been my example of what a Marine should not be, but he now has his name boldly engraved upon a gorgeous black plaque for all the world to see and honor, but I am the only one who knows the truth.

How ironic, Captain Mike was right, a true hero doesn't have to build monuments to himself, his good service will be his monument.