THREAD
I used to live near a WWII veteran in farmland Minnesota. He kept the nicest garden of flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees, at least an acre's worth. He was old and lived in a very modest house with his wife of 60+ years amongst the corn & soybean fields.
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I used to live near a WWII veteran in farmland Minnesota. He kept the nicest garden of flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees, at least an acre's worth. He was old and lived in a very modest house with his wife of 60+ years amongst the corn & soybean fields.
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Bud and I would talk every time we had a chance.
One day, I was talking with Bud and I asked him about the amount of time he spent tending to his majesty of nature.
He looked at me, and a tear formed in the corner of his eye.
Bud wasn't a man who'd ever shown me emotion.
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One day, I was talking with Bud and I asked him about the amount of time he spent tending to his majesty of nature.
He looked at me, and a tear formed in the corner of his eye.
Bud wasn't a man who'd ever shown me emotion.
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He asked me if I'd heard of the Battle of the Bulge. I said yes, one of my grandfathers was there fighting in the Army.
Bud said, "good, then you know about it. Do ya know that there was a north and south that was split by the Nazis?"
No, I didn't.
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Bud said, "good, then you know about it. Do ya know that there was a north and south that was split by the Nazis?"
No, I didn't.
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"Well," Bud said, "I was a cook and was trapped, freezing to death. And the Nazi snipers tried to kill me every chance they got, because I was feeding our men, keeping them alive."
He told me that he cooked anything he could find as they were running out of food.
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He told me that he cooked anything he could find as they were running out of food.
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He said it was the most awful thing. Men, friends of his, brothers in arms, were being slowly killed. Picked off by the enemy, injured and dying, freezing.
He said the sound of them dying haunted him every minute of every day.
He looked me in the eye and said...
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He said the sound of them dying haunted him every minute of every day.
He looked me in the eye and said...
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Gardening was the only thing that quieted the sound in his head. Putting his hands in the dirt, tending his crop, with the wind and sun on him, let his mind calm down.
What he said to me next is shook me even more.
This was in 2004 when Bud and I had this talk.
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What he said to me next is shook me even more.
This was in 2004 when Bud and I had this talk.
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Bud looked at me & said that anyone supporting war, going to Iraq and Afghanistan, those were people who never saw the horror of war, the inhuman suffering.
As I thanked him for sharing with me, he said, we don't need war, unless they are invading 🇺🇸.
Thank you Bud.✌️
/end
As I thanked him for sharing with me, he said, we don't need war, unless they are invading 🇺🇸.
Thank you Bud.✌️
/end
I just looked at the satellite view on Google Maps, Bud and his wife must've passed on #RIP
I can see the outline of the garden, but it's been planted with grass now.
Bud's memory lives on, hopefully we can learn from his horrific experience.
I can see the outline of the garden, but it's been planted with grass now.
Bud's memory lives on, hopefully we can learn from his horrific experience.
Did anyone share this thread with @jaketapper ?
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