My Memorial Day column

[Montana Cowboy]

Howdy Folks
Rocky, Your post brings me to share this with all of you good folks.
One Saturday while waiting for my wife to pick me up at the gun show I was sitting on a bench in the parking lot when an older gentleman much like the one you described pulled in and parked. What caught my attention was how much trouble he had getting out of his van, walking around to the other side to get his cane, you could tell he was in a great deal of pain, so much so that I asked if he could use some help. No,he said I'll be ok once I get my medication in, it will help some.
I asked what he was looking for at the gun show, thinking at the time that given his condition it would be impossible for him to fire a rifle, as he was in bad shape. He said "Just lookin young man"
He sat down next to me and said he just drove three hours to get to the show. I sat and talked with this old fella as he really seemed hapy to have someone to talk to. He never complained once about the pain he was in, but it was very clear that he was hurting.
Come to find out that he was a sniper in the south pacific during WW 11. He said the the one thing he could remember so clear like it happend yesterday was the japanese sniper that he didn't shoot. He said that one of the things that would get you ( A Sniper )shot real quick by another sniper was movement that was qiuck and deliberate.
He knew that the sniper was in the general area but couldn't locate him,so he was just lying still looking for him. All of a sudden about forty yards away this guy jumps down out of a tree in front of him throwing his arms all over the place,yelling and slaping himself all over. Turns out he got into the wrong tree which he didn't see had a big bee nest above him. The old fella said he worked his way around to the Japanese soldier and took him prisoner, said he didn't offer any resistance as the bees took all the fight out of him.
The old fella went on to tell me about all the bugs in that jungle that had bit him during the time he was there and said some of them would scare ya half to death just looking at them let alone getting bit by em.
After the war he returned to the states bought a house in a the country. He said he couldn't believe that after all he went through during the war that one little bug,a tick coud do all this to him.
What amazed me most about him is he had such a good outlook on things, seemed so positive about everything. He said he was lucky to have what he has as he knew other folks that didn't have it so good and he tried to help them when he could.
My wife finally showed up and I had to go. I often think of him and hope he is doing ok. I can only hope that I would have such a positive attitude if I ever found myself in a condition like his. MC