My big fat Greek food festival

Besides church, I was invited today to the big annual ethnic food festival at the local Greek Orthodox parish. It was wonderful! I ate too much. I will regret it tomorrow, and I do not regret it in the slightest today. I had the opportunity to watch the different Greek dance teams, that ranged from middle school age through high school through grandparents age. And the food, oh the food. I have certainly taken care of my meat allotment all the way through Great Lent.

But, I found myself thinking about a certain subject during that festival. I had the very high honor of meeting several Greek-American World War II veterans. I was again impressed with why the “Greatest Generation” is called that. The men spoke with heavy Greek accents and were immigrants. They had come during the waves of Greek immigration at the beginning of the 20th century. Some had not been here very long and had either barely become citizens or were given their citizenship after their entry into the Armed Forces. Some had been drafted and some had joined. But, none of them complained about the USA grabbing them within a short time of their arrival to send them to war. Some of their friends never came home, and never really had the time to enjoy the advantages of citizenship.

But, they had come to this country, and they understood that one of the responsibilities of citizenship is to give some of their time in service should their new country call. They had grown up on the stories of what it meant to be under the Turkocracia, before Greece had won her freedom again in the 19th century. Some had certainly heard stories of their great-grandfather’s fight for freedom. And, so, in this new country, faced with an unexpected invasion, they went to war. One of them, who had served as a Marine, joked about how he asked to be posted to Europe, since he spoke Greek, only to be told that where he was going, Greek was not needed. He ended up in the island-hopping campaign. The others spoke of hardships suffered with a light voice, and a couple of how they had almost been recalled for the Korean Conflict.

Now, they are old men. They are dying off. And, as they die off, I find myself thinking of how much poorer a country we will be when these men and women are gone. They are Democrats and Republicans. The are liberal and conservative. They are for a more socialist state; they are for a much less socialist state. They have many opinions on many subject.

But, this they know. When the test came, they answered. When the chips were down, they looked straight into the hell of war and did not flinch. When the time came, they gave all that they have to protect all that they loved. May God bless the “Greatest Generation.”