SOMETHINGS GET MY ATTENTION

Sometimes I amaze myself! I see something, and suddenly I have a curiosity about it, and it can become an obsession to a degree!

Driving to and from the agency that I am a board member of, I pass this monument along the way, in Islandia, NY. The monument sits at a three-corned intersection, which has no place to safely park, one’s car. The monument itself is a piece of marble or stone, or even granite, and stands about one and a half stories high. Atop this monument sits a large eternal flame.

On each of the five sides of the monument is an inscription and seal honoring each of the five branches of the service. Words are engraved, and in relief is the seal of each service. It is very impressive when one passes it during the night. The full-bodied flame, licking the air about it, signifying the holiness of the site, gives me goose bumps. It is like a reminder that calls out in the dark!

I think about the many good men that died, the different branches and service that was rendered by them. Then I get mixed emotions! Why the hell is the monument in such a dangerous place? I can’t get out safely to inspect it, put a bunch of flowers down to memorialize all those that died in the service of their country. Then I think, maybe it is better that we don’t thread on holy ground, don’t disturb the sanctity of it all. It is so special: we shouldn’t contaminate it with our presence.

Monuments are lonely things in and of themselves. They signify the passing of an event or person, or in this case a group of people. There should really be a flag there, near the monument. After all, they all served the same colors, red, white and blue.