There are so many incredible people that we pass each day, often without knowing their stories. Yesterday, a gentleman in a waiting room saw my Air Force shirt and we struck up a conversation.
Now retired, he had spent his career as a navigator/bombardier, mostly on a B-52. He served in Vietnam and described navigating across the ocean like sailors of old - by the stars. Such a difference from the flying I do now with precision GPS.
Service was obviously in his family’s blood. His brother had been killed in WW2 on a bombing run over Europe. He spoke of it with a mention that revealed the kind of pain that never goes away. He also commented on how his old Air Force flight crew brothers still keep in touch.
Our nation was built by patriots who gave all that they had. They’re often passing by us at random places, no longer flying missions into battle but serving in other ways - such as caring for family or serving their community. We can learn a lot from them ... if we stop and listen.
