OPINION: ALFORD: 'Our country is in mourning; a veteran died today'

Janie Slaven, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Dec. 18—My hunting buddy from the Adirondack Mountains, Bill Gori, sent a touching poem the other day about the honor that is due our nation's veterans. A portion of that poem says this:

He won't be mourned by many,

Just his children and his wife.

For he lived an ordinary,

Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,

Going quietly on his way;

And the world won't note his passing,

'Tho a veteran died today.

If we cannot do him honor

While he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage

At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline

In the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING;

A VETERAN DIED TODAY."

I received that poem a week or so after another of my longtime friends, Don Bishop of Owenton, Ky., had died. Don was a veteran who lived a quiet life in his hometown. After he finished his Army hitch, Don opened a barbershop and later worked for the U.S. Postal Service until his retirement.

I knew Don for many years, and there's so much I could say about him. But what has always stood out in my mind is the way he honored his fellow military veterans. He lived out the Bible's admonition to give "honor to whom honor" is due, as we're told to do in Romans 13:17.

If there was a Mount Rushmore for America's most patriotic citizens, I expect Don's face would be on it. Old Glory waved outside his home, but what really set him apart was his personal tribute to veterans when they departed this side of eternity.

You see, Don had learned to salute in basic training, and he kept in practice throughout his years of Army service inside the U.S. and overseas.

As our World War II and Korean War veterans began to age and die, Don came to show his respect with a salute. He'd stop in front of the casket, snap to attention, and whip his right hand to the edge of his brow with the quickness of an 18-year-old. It was so moving to see an elderly veteran like Don honor his comrades in such a way. He made no great show of it. He didn't want attention. He just quietly saluted. He offered no explanation and, certainly, no apology.

I will tell you that this salute from a man well into his 80s would run chills down spines of anyone with even a hint of patriotism.

So, I wanted to show my respect to Don by taking note that one of America's finest, a veteran, has died. and we offer that poet's headline:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING; A VETERAN DIED TODAY."

Reach Roger Alford at 502-514-6857 or rogeralford1@gmail.com.