RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
One who represents so many lost Americans A young Marine by the name of Mike Strank landed on the beaches of Iwo Jima in 1945. At 25, he was the oldest of his Company, and assumed the awesome responsibility of bringing his young charges through one of the war's bloodiest and most important battles on a blackened piece of rock in ownership of the Japanese. This immigrant son of Czechoslovakian parents, raised in Pennsylvania, was one who helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima, an image captured by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. The photo became a rallying point for Americans who were weary of war, and weary of losing so many at so many battles. Sgt. Strank is barely visible in the photo and only his hand can be seen, not coincidentally in a supporting role, helping his men raise the flag. We often gaze at a copy of that photo, which hangs in our office, and think of the Mike Stranks of our nation- the young men and women of each generation called upon to serve. How they respond with such self-imposed commitment and dedication is one of the great American mysteries of life.
Many of those like Mike Strank, who died in that Godforsaken place, are unknown to us by name, but their lives, like Strank's hand reaching to help lift that flag, offer us a glimpse of the greatness of the American people. On this Memorial Day we honor those Mike Stranks as we bask in the freedoms they have paid such a high price to preserve for us.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||
