Memorial Memories

Memorial Memories
Clifton L. Taulbert

I was barely nineteen when I raised my hands to pledge my life and service to our country as an airman in the United States Air Force. I was scared and unsure of what this new chapter in my life would be. The Viet Nam War was the conversation of the world and the fear that lurked in my heart. However, it was the strength and courage of others that eventually became mine—my soldier brothers and sisters. It has been decades since August of 1964, but a time I shall never forget and always remember—as these MEMORIAL CELEBRATIONS come and go. I was among the fortunate ones. My fear was very real. The fear of death was forever present whether stateside as I was or on the battle fields of Viet Nam as some watched while others were notified of friends whose lives and dreams were cut short. Today I remain THANKFUL that my life has continued and with my life and work I celebrate their memories. These were my friends—my friends whose lives made the barracks home, whose laughter made the war further away and whose jokes I still remember and whose courage I shall never forget. They were so young, as all of us were, and so filled with dreams and promise. Now today, while crisscrossing the country to do the work I love, I see my friends and remember their lives each time a young soldier crosses my path. I stand and watch, because I know that they, too raised their hands as we did so many decades earlier—committing our lives to the service of our country. This we must never forget or take for granted. We can continually honor those who didn’t come home with intentional act of unselfishness toward others. This we can do—use their memories to create a legacy of brotherhood and sisterhood as they did in the trenches of Viet Nam and on the second floor of a fading green cinder block barracks in Bangor, Maine. When I was without courage, their courage became my own. Their unselfishness to our nation is indeed a gift to always treasure and to do so daily as we seek to build and sustain the America that called their lives to the ultimate gift of unselfishness—their lives.