The people you meet

I'm sitting on the tailgate in Silver City NM. It's a nice day, Jill's riding, and I came back early from a tweaked knee. Up drives a beat up older car. A guy gets out with 2 blue heelers and proceeds up the trail for a hike. Nice guy. Says "hello, nice day out." I agree and wish him a good hike. He's limping quite a bit, not walking too comfortably. The dogs stay right at his heels.

A little bit later, the guy comes back down and sparks up small talk again. Jill says something about seeing him up on the trail, and i hear him say something about having a purple heart medal. I look up and walk over, interested in hearing his story.

This guy who is now hiking daily with a limp and rough gate has quite a history. He was a combat medic in Viet Nam. He was hit 19 times and was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in action 5 times. He is credited for saving 119 lives in 11 months and 17 days. His job was not just to administer morphine and patch up a bulet hole. This HERO would walk Into the Mouth of the Cat when a brother soldier was wounded. He would run toward enemy fire, taking some himself, in order to save a life. I was humbled hearing his story.

It's days like this that I cherish life as an American and humbly thank all those who served to give me the opportunity to live where and how I do. My dad was one of those men, and I'll never be able to thank him enough.

And I hope those 119 families whose loved ones are here because of this man understand what price he paid to bring those guys back.

Brian