This Memorial Day

[Gatorade]

My grandfather is a WWII vet who was with the 104th Timberwolf division. He was in Germany and was a company runner till he suffered a collapsed lung, then he was switched to command post MP. While serving as a company runner he would some times be assigned to a task with the company he was assigned to while waiting to transfer orders. I asked him if there was anyone in particular he thought about on Memorial Day. He says he thinks of quite a few but one in particular. His name was John Freese. My grandfather had been assigned as a runner with a machine gun squad and they were going on a mission the next day and they were training him on what he needed to do as he was never trained for a machine gun squad, but as a runner he could be assigned to any squad at any time. Well the squad was not too happy about going to fight with someone who had no experience with machine guns. One of the officers pulled another runner with machine gun crew experience for the job and my grandfather got pulled off the team and replaced by John Freese. Well the next day the crew went out and got hit pretty bad by mortars I think and John Freese did not make it back. So along with all the service men and women who died to keep us safe John Freese is who I think of on Memorial Day.

[DrHenley]

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.