We can talk to our elder war heroes about everyday matters too

This morning I took the shuttle to the VA hospital for my multiple appointments. I don’t know who thought up booking me for three appointments when one of those was a MRI. But it all worked out somehow.

An 84-year-old Marine sat next to me on the ride over. He seemed kind of lonesome, as to be expected, since he lives by himself. His wife died several years ago and his children are scattered around the country. The fellow was, I believe he said, a veteran of Saipan, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima during World War II. It’s hard to imagine going through and — moreover, living through — one of those battles, much less three.

I know that if he had wanted to talk about those battles he would have. He did mention the unit citations his outfit received during the war and talked about how he would sell the cigarettes that came in his rations to other GIs because he didn’t smoke. We mostly talked about less martial things though. We spoke of gas prices. He said he could remember gas wars during the late 40s with stations selling regular for 19-20 cents per gallon. We both remarked at how strange it is that we have the highest average gas prices in Texas right now when we are surrounded by refineries. We also talked about movies and just common everyday matters.

The funniest thing this old Marine told me was something I had not heard but is evidently true. He said that during a visit several years ago to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum the visitors were informed that the wax figure of President Bill Clinton had its zipper sewn shut. The reason was that every time the museum personnel went by the Clinton figure they would find that someone had passed by the mannequin and unzipped his pants.

Sometimes it is great to hear of the war exploits of our older heroes. Other times it is just as rewarding talking to these fellows and listening to their take on the normal affairs of man — and presidents.