Quiet Heroes

Quiet Heroes
            I’ve lived long enough to see news about numerous wars in various parts of the world. When my brothers and friends were of an age young men would be called to serve in the military, we were in a patch of history when the military draft had ended, after the U.S. left Vietnam.
            My immediate contemporaries were less likely to go off to war, but one would be hard pressed to visit a friend or relative’s house without seeing family photos of grandfathers, fathers, uncles, and aunts in uniform.
            With an all-volunteer military for decades, today, many people don’t feel the sense of immediacy about the sacrifices made by those who serve.
            On a recent walk through a shady redwood grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, a large triangular white memorial stone glowed magically as we walked toward it through the forest. Coming closer, we saw many names carved into the stone, memorializing those who were lost in World War I. The stone monument and its list of names was a quiet but powerful remembrance of those who died over a century ago.
            Smaller stones around the large monument spoke simply and profoundly. A 1918 dedication to Gold Star Mothers and the sons they lost, another stone with the piercing admonition, “Lest We Forget.”
            This calm space brings a visceral sense of appreciation for quiet heroes, remembered collectively by those who stop for a moment to contemplate the reminders carved in stone.
            Do you have heroes, living or already passed? A quiet moment of thanks has meaning, even for those who can no longer hear us. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Heroes Grove-Golden Gate Park, leads readers through a grove of old redwoods in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, featuring monuments honoring the fallen of World War I.
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New this week:
Hike Notes 234: Heroes Grove-Golden Gate Park