By Pam Croy
~as Denny and I walked in the front entrance, an elderly man was sitting there in a wheelchair~He nodded his head, smiled~I walked over with Denny, the old man was all smiles~~we talked, he loved~ somehow , we got on age~he is 94 YO~~no privacy issue here, so I asked “did you serve our country ?”~~Yes, I was in the Pacific,I served under MacArthur~~I shook his hand and thanked him~~”Were you on Bataan, the Death March?” I asked~~yes, and I survived, I have no idea how many died” He said~~We talked more, I told him that one of my Uncles was in the death march and did not survive , that there is a VFW home in Ocala, Florida dedicated to his memory as the first boy from Marion County to be a casualty of war. The man at Emeritus does not remember him of course~~too many men, too many hardships,too many years ago.
And so, the old ones are still here~~their numbers are getting smaller, but in 2 consecutive visitations, I have met 2 of our national treasures.