In honor of Memorial Day, I want to remember my grandfather, Eugene Carpenter. He was one of the millions of Americans that put his life on the line for the sake of freedom. Grandpa Carpenter fought in World War II, in the European theater. He went everywhere: Africa, Italy, Normandy, and all through Europe. He was a part of the D-Day invasion...Utah beach, 5th wave. Grandpa didn't get to see Paris, France because he quickly bypassed it on the way to the Battle of the Bulge. It was a long, rough battle in the freezing cold. He persevered and survived.Grandpa was a liberator. His unit discovered a concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany. He never talked about it, except one time to my father. What could that have possibly been like to find that horror and atrocity, being a young man from a small town in Michigan?
Oh, how grateful I am for his service to our country. And for all of the men and women who have come before him and after him. We live in a country that is the bastion of freedom. We don't conquer people, we liberate them! This is what my grandfather did.
God Bless America.
4 comments:
Wow. He was a great American.
I loved this post! It is so important to remember all the heros like your grandfather who have made our country so great.
Yahoo for the men who were willing to serve and protect our country.
Interesting. My grandpa (Daniel Edward Thacke) also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He also helped liberate a concentration camp (forget which one). I wonder if they knew each other or ever crossed paths (the curious mind wonders...)?
Amazing lives, amazing soldiers.
Thanks for the tribute about your grandpa. It was beautiful.
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