A tribute to Danny...

God bless America and God bless our veterans and our men in the armed forces!

If it were not for these people, we would not be living in a free country today. They leave the security of their homes and families to go and serve their country. They make the ultimate sacrifice for us all and we need to show and give them the respect that they deserve. To serve their country in this way is considered a very high honor.

Most all of us either know a veteran or may have someone in their family that is in the armed services.

I had a brother, Danny, that was a veteran. He was in the United States Navy for six years and he was proud of it. He was in his early twenties when he decided he wanted to go in the service. Little did his family know that this would be such a life changing experience for him.

Danny left us as our brother; the one we grew up with, played with, went to school with, laughed and cried with, and came back almost a complete stranger. Yes, Danny made the ultimate sacrifice. Mentally; we had lost him as the brother we knew. Danny was never the same. He was later diagnosed as a manic depressive.

No one really knows what happened to Danny while he was in service. He never really talked about his experiences and if you asked him, he would answer you quick like with “that is classified information, I can’t talk about it.” But on the same token, he would be beaming with pride because he had served his country. He was proud of what he had done and he loved his country. We were proud of him too.

I think that most of the people in Bamberg knew Danny or met him at one time or another. He had his special places and people that he would go and visit every day. I can’t name them all, so I will just mention a few. He loved Mr. Jimmie Birch at the Western Auto. He would spend hours visiting with him on a daily basis. He loved and respected Police Chief George Morris and would go to him for advice. There were the girls at Home Federal Savings and Loan along with Bo Griffin and there was Ms. Nora at B.C. Moores that he would take a coke to every morning. These people were Danny’s friends.

We lost Danny to a house fire in 2003...no he did not die for his country, but I can tell that he would have gladly given his life for his country if that had been the case.

We all tend to forget that without our veterans, we would probably not be where we are today...They deserve the utmost respect from all of us.

Let us remember our veterans and those who are serving our country in the armed forces on Veterans Day and remember because of them we are able to enjoy our freedom.

God Bless America, God Bless our Veterans and God Bless all of you!