A touching message in a simple 38 words teaches a profound lesson
St. John Church of Christ’s salute to Logan County veterans has become a not-to-miss event for many of us who served in the military. The festive celebration, held Sunday evening at Lincoln American Legion Post 263, followed suit as a memory maker.
Lots of good people spend countless hours each year planning and organizing the annual event. Most, but not all of the folks who make this happen, are members of the St. John congregation.
The turnout for the event is always remarkably large, and this year’s gathering was no exception. For me, the old soldiers who attend are the biggest draw, perhaps because I’m well into their age group. This year, my wife Suzi and I had the honor of sharing a table with the oldest veteran in attendance, Bill Gossett, who attended with his wife, Jean. Bill’s magic number to win the prize was 98, as in years old.
Gossett never fails to entertain with stories about his own past and the history of his hometown. He shared several stories in that vain Sunday evening as we waited for our meals to be served and during breaks in the program.
Speaking of the program, it’s always focused on us, the veterans. It includes musical entertainment, a prayer or two, and usually a guest speaker. Veterans are paid tribute according to the branch of service in which they served.
The evening always concludes with mail call, something all of us in the service welcomed, especially if it included a letter or two from home. This year’s “mail” was created by students from Lincoln Elementary School District 27. Included in our mailbags were several 8-inch by 10-inch poster-like messages that had been hand-colored by the young students. “Happy Veterans Day” and “Thank you for Your Service” were common messages.
I waited until returning home to empty my mailbag in the comfort of my recliner and the nearby glowing woodstove. Besides the 8-by-10 sheets, there were greetings from Lincoln’s Rotary Club, photos of a local Eagle Scout project to create a directory of memorial bricks installed at Lincoln’s All-Veterans Park and a nice note from Lincoln Animal Control.
But wait! I spied another greeting from a young student that had slipped out of the pile of hand-colored messages. It obviously became separated from the others because of its different size. Unlike the others, which were single sheets, this one was folded, like a greeting card.
The cover message was an Old Glory background with a drawing of an eagle dominating the scene. It included the message, THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY. I opened to the inside and the words written by an obviously quite young student produced one of those throat lumps and made me a bit misty-eyed.
I woke up a few times during the night with that young writer’s words heavy on my mind. When I got out of bed this past Monday morning, I knew what this week’s column was going to feature. The message in that card was simple, to the point of complexity. I knew I had to share it with those of you who read this weekly column. Here’s what was written inside:
“I love you and thank you for a lot of stuf and I hop you are good and I wood like to see you fit in a gain and you men a lot to me I love you.” At the bottom of that roughly scribbled note, where a signature would normally go, are three hand-drawn hearts.
Not an ounce, not a single hint of hate to be found, just a message of love. And some indication that this young writer just might be aware that some military personnel have a tough time fitting in when they return home from their service.
That short note also taught me a lesson. When I create this weekly column, I strive to write between 800
and 1,200 words. This young student said it all in 38 words.
If this week’s column seems shorter than usual, I confirm that indeed is the case. Call it a lesson learned.
Dan Tackett is a retired managing editor of The Courier. He can be reached at dtackett@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Tackett: Lincoln IL student's message to vets teaches profound lesson
