Almost Memorial Day Again
(April 30, 2009) | 
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| At 1:51 a.m. I sit at my desk but my mind takes me back to
days of youth where the “hills of yesterday” seemed so tall. We climbed those
hills just to see the scenery on the other side, and having seen that which lies
beyond, we stood in awe trying to take in all before us. Our small minds and
young memories filed away all that we had seen, leaving us to wonder what the
rest of the world held in store. Thoughts arose that one day, yet to come, we'd
venture beyond the “hills of yesterday.” What glory that would be to visit that
other world, to sail the seas, climb the mountains, inhale the freshness of the
verdant forests, and, in general, become a part of such a scene.
We dreamed of ships and trains, and planes which would take us to the ends of
the Earth. These dreams were tucked away in the memory banks of our youth, to be
drawn upon when we moved from boy to man. The day did come when ships and trains
and planes transported us to a world at war. We did see some mountains of ocean
waves and mountains of heights far exceeding those “hills of yesterday”. From
the altitudes of thirty-thousand feet, or more, we viewed, as it were, the
“fifty-yard” seats of a world gone mad, where man shouldered his rifle to kill
or be killed. From the seas, drenched with foam, the big guns roared, sixteen
inch guns, and twenty-one inch guns, and lesser ones, all aimed at blasting the
enemy, hopefully before he fixed his sights on you. From the hundreds of
four-engine planes, were loosed the “children of destruction”, mighty bombs that
set fire to entire cities, creating fire storms which consumed everything in
sight... cities like Hamburg and Dresden, and Tokyo and lesser cities of the
Japanese Isle.
Then there were two special B-29's which, over Japan, loosed the mother of all
bombs... leveling entire cities with a sound the world had never heard before. A
sound so loud that the demons of Hell must have trembled, seeking refuge in some
darkened cave.
Finally, the “game” was over; the dead buried, the cities lay desolate, wives
and mothers and sisters cried for their husbands, sons, and brothers who never
returned to take another look at those “hills of yesterday”, whose memories
still remained! Strange how those hills of our youth seemed so high yesterday,
but returning from our visage of that other world, of which we once dreamed,
those same hills are but mounds in our memories!
Now, we have memories from which we cannot free ourselves. We still see dead
friends, sunken ships, crashed bombers and fighters, we can smell the cordite of
wars half a world away, and we long to, again, climb the simple “hills of
yesterday”. “Home” is a beautiful four-letter word! So is the word “hill”!
C. Douglas Caffey, 100% service-connected disabled vet of World War II, who
cannot even climb a single hill of “yesterday”. However, the memory of all those
hills is still alive. | |
By
C. Douglas Caffey
Copyright 2006
Author's Bio:
C. Douglas Caffey is a disabled veteran of WWII. He
served (1944-1946) in the 509th Composite Bomb Group,
58th Wing, Air Photo Unit, 20th Air Force, United States
Army Air Force. It was the 509th who dropped the atomic
bombs on Japan and did the atom bomb tests at Bikini in
the Pacific. A chronic sufferer of PTSD since WWII, Doug
is a former college dean. He started writing poetry
several years ago and though he doesn't claim to be a
poet, he does claim to write from the heart.
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