Happy Memorial Day to all. I think the meaning behind this holiday was becoming lost on me until my mother held up the dogtags of my neighbor today. I'd like to share this with everyone as a tribute to all who fight for freedom. Whether it's with a weapon, their wits, a pen, brush or instrument. Or these days, a computer. My father was training as a pilot then a navigator in WWII. For better or worse, while his crew was awaiting orders for deployment, the war in Europe ended and a few months later it ended in the Pacific. After being discharged he found his sweetheart, my mom, and in 1947 they married. She was 19 and he 24. After five years of living in urban areas of Hamilton and Trenton NJ, they bought property in the woods of the Sourland Mountains and built a house. Within two years a couple bought the property next door and built a house. Bernice and Charlie and my folks became fast friends. Charlie had been a Ranger in WWII and seen action from Normandy to Berlin. I've seen the photos. It wasn't until '58 that the oldest brother was born and three years later the second. Another five years pass and oops! At age 39 my mom gives birth for the third time and here I am. In the end that was ok with everybody. Unfortunately by the time I was eight my father passed away being only 52 at the time. But Bernice and Charlie were there and were like the aunt and uncle that lived next door. They never had kids of their own and I think they were happy to have us around. Time passes, but Bernice and Charlie were always there, and the middle brother and myself still share the home with our mother. She defies her age. Bernice finally passed in early 2009. Mostly healthy, but issues from an earlier auto accident cropped up and I think she finally had enough of the pains and aches. We were there for Charlie and neighbors on the other side were as well. A group of four houses, including Charlie, we all watched out for him and had him over for dinner, make a visit once in awhile and just kept him in our sites. If I was out doing yardwork or something, it wouldn't be long before Charlie would meander over and we'd be chatting about something and a half hour or more would pass. But all things do pass and on February 28 (my dad's birthday) of 2011 Charlie passed on. The neighbor on the other side of Charlie called and said things didn't look quite right around the house. Charlie was a creature of habit and when things were out of place you knew something was wrong. She and I entered the house and we found him in his bathroom. It was a site that will stay with me for the rest of my life alongside watching my father collapse on Mother's Day when he died. There is a point to all this morose recap. My oldest brother has collected all the WWII items of my father and now has Charlie's medals and some other memorabilia. His dogtags were missing and his nephew found them this Memorial Day weekend and gave them to mom for my brother Jeff. Seeing those dogtags reminded me of what this day is all about. We honor those who fight for freedom. Charlie survived and my father, though ready to go, missed out. Many others do not come back and this continues to this day. I wish we could avoid war altogether, but dictators still exist and greedy governments want to control their people for their own sense of power and greed. Today we honor those who want to maintain freedom for us here in the US and to help others find the freedom we enjoy. Continued below.