Veterans Day – WWII Vet Mr. Vic

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:34-40 NLT

The man pictured above, Vic, is a World War II veteran. Vic was at Normandy on D-Day, and saw lots of traumatic sights in his fight to keep the U.S. a free country. As most of you know, World War II veterans are becoming scarce. In the photo, Vic is holding his dad’s hat from World War I. The medal on the hat is the WWI Victory Medal.

Vic tells a story of an event he was involved with near the end of WWII. He and a couple other soldiers used to drive along an old road as part of their patrol. When they would come to the end of their route, they often met with a German couple who had a young daughter. After a while they got to know this family, and a friendship developed.

One day Vic and his comrades learned that it would soon be the daughter’s birthday. They went back to camp and told the cook they needed a birthday cake for a six-year-old girl. Then they somehow managed to scrounge up some ice cream.

On the little girl’s birthday, the three returned to the home of their German friends and surprised them with cake and ice cream. Since the family had lived in a war-torn country for years, this was the first birthday party the girl ever had. It was also the first time she ever tasted cake or ice cream. The look of delight on her face was priceless. Vic said the parents had tears streaming down their cheeks. They couldn’t contain their gratitude for these three American soldiers who cared enough about their daughter to do such a thing.

After 75 years, Vic still cherishes the memory. 

I hope you’ll take time to read the above Scripture again. If you are not sure how to get right with the King of kings of the universe, please see Got God?

Thank you, veterans.

May you all have a great day.