Comments on: Samuel Mason Walden Jr., War Veteran

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:09:20 +0000

You are blessed to have those stories. My dad served in the Aleutian Islands during the war, later being readied to take part in the invasion of Japan. Thankfully that didn’t have to happen. I too spent my youth as you did, more interested in playing war games as a child and not having the inquisitiveness to ask as a young man. Not that he would have talked about it anyway, my mom has said that he just shut down about those years. This seems to be the rule for these men rather than the exception.

Because of the many sacrifices they and those left at home made for us at that time are they called The Greatest Generation for a reason.

By: John Smeby

John Smeby — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:29:40 +0000

Pastor Bill–I love this. My dad did not serve in the military, nor is he still alive (had to give him back to Jesus in January of this year). But I, too, am thankful for the wisdom and grace (even though it took awhile–and He’s still not done!) to see in both my parents, while they were on this earth, the sacrifices that really do–should–make up a fulfilling life. How shallow much of today’s culture has become. God bless you for sharing about your dad!

By: pastorbillwalden

pastorbillwalden — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:20:34 +0000

Hi Pat,
Welcome to the blog. Yes, our dads lived and served in an amazing time in our nations’ history. Our dads served in the same Pacific arena, and fought in the same battles. We have much to be proud and thankful for. Thanks for dropping by, and blessings be upon you.

By: Pat Sieler

Pat Sieler — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:00:31 +0000

Hey Pastor Bill,
My dad was in the Navy during WW2 as well. I love talking to him about it. He served on an aircraft carrier, don’t recall the name. But he fought in the Battle of Midway. What an amazing time in our nations history.

By: Praying Heart

Praying Heart — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:21:19 +0000

Hi Pastor Bill;
If i may, i’d like to comment on what Los Precious said.

Los Precious;
I think it is good for us to remember what our parents and grandparents went through during the wars (WW!! – Korean – and even the Great Depression) and to remember that back then there was more respect for God and the desire to honor Him and our country. I love that we have this heritage and pray we may remind our children and grandchildren of this, as they are not getting it in the public school teaching. We can pass down the batton of faith in God and love for the work He’s doing in our country by holding onto those precious values and teaching them to our loved ones. Thanks for sharing.

By: LosPrecios

LosPrecios — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:10:08 +0000

My Dad was in WWII as well. Served in the Army and saw some action in Europe. He faithfully attended an annual reunion with his Army buddies as long as he was physically able to do so. Dad had a lot of WWII memorabilia around the house: all his medals, his draft card and discharge papers, photos of his outfit, some letters he had written to his mom from overseas (complete with blacked out areas for security purposes). Dad didn’t talk about his stories much either, I guess he figured us “young’uns” weren’t much interested, which is why he probably attended the reunions…comrades in arms could understand.

Dad was reading this book written by Tom Brokaw called “The Last Great Generation” or something like that. It talked about the generation that went through and grew up during WWII being the generation that really understood the values of the USA and what it fought for.

After Dad died, I wanted to have his 8×10 military uniform photo. My, he was a handsome devil in that uniform!

I guess I don’t really have a point to my post…other than to say: thanks for sharing about our Veterans. They are woefully under-appreciated.

By: Jim Prudhomme

Jim Prudhomme — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:48:40 +0000

Bill, thanks for the timely note. My dad is still alive too. I had a similar reaction to dad as a teen. Thank God we have both lived long enough to appreciate our dads, while they are still alive. We are standing on the shoulders of great men! Well said!

By: Praying Heart

Praying Heart — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:14:23 +0000

Pastor Bill;
My older brother, Bob was in the Navy too. He was on the USS Enterprise and the Carl Vincent . . .

He was in the Viet Nam war and died at a very young age –

He was buried at Arlington National Cementary, MD – with a 21 gun salute in honor of his service to our free Country . . .

I’m thankful for your blog where I can add his name to this memorial.

Blessings to all who have family members in the military or who have been in the military . . . Thank you!

By: Praying Heart

Praying Heart — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:25:06 +0000

What a blessing it was to meet your dad when he came to church for a visit with your sweet mother.

What a wonderful blessing to still have your parents around, to talk with them, spend time with them, and to gleen from the years of wisdom they’ve gathered in this life.

You are very blessed indeed to recognize the treasure you have in your parents and to honor them as you do.

I hope you’re recording your dad’s war stories and all, as someday when your parants are gone you’ll want to pass them down to your grandchildren and them to theirs.

Isn’t your dad also a preacher? Or did I misunderstand.