Joey woke very early because it was the day of the big parade. He got to sleep overnight with Grandpa and Grandma so he could be ready with Grandpa. After a breakfast of cereal and pancakes, Joey went upstairs to see if his Grandpa was ready. In his entire five years of life he had never seen Grandpa wear such funny clothes.
He called out to Grandpa, “Hey, that’s a silly costume! Are we going trick or treating? I could dress like a pirate!”
His Grandpa laughed and asked Joey to sit on the big chair in the bedroom as the elderly man stood in front of the full length mirror. He already had a pair of olive drab pants on, along with a shirt of similar color. He wore tall boots laced tightly to the top. He had been trying on his jacket when Joey entered the room.
Joey began to ask questions about Grandpa’s clothes. He noticed the shoulder sleeve picture sewn on to the jacket. “Why is there a bird picture on your jacket?” His Grandpa pulled up a chair next to Joey and looked like he was really happy that Joey was interested.
“Oh, this is a picture of an eagle. Remember that big bird we saw soaring over our heads when we went fishing up north last summer? This one is actually called a screaming eagle. Sometimes the eagle will make a loud noise that sounds like a scream before it dives from the sky to catch a fish in the water. A long time ago I wore this jacket with this picture on it when I had to jump from the sky out of a plane in the middle of the night.”
Joey’s eyes opened wide as he heard this, “You mean that you flew through the air over houses just like Santa Claus?”
Grandpa smiled and replied, “No, but there was a time just before Christmas in 1944 when I had to jump as a paratrooper over Belgium in Europe. I was in the 101st Airborne Division and we were known as the “Screaming Eagles” because of how we jumped into battle.”
“That must have been fun!” Joey exclaimed.
“Well, I can tell you that it was fun when we were just practicing. But I was very scared that night because I thought that I might have to die in the battle.”
“I am glad that you didn’t die, Grandpa!” said Joey as he climbed on Grandpa’s lap and hugged him.
As Grandpa put his helmet on, he continued with his story, “We were fighting an important battle called the “Battle of the Bulge”. For a while we were surrounded by Hitler’s army and it didn’t look good but we held our ground until General Patton broke through with his men.
Joey looked up at his Grandpa and replied, “Mom says that Daddy is fighting the battle of the bulge and that’s why his clothes don’t fit.”
Grandpa laughed at that comment, “No, Joey, this battle was about a bad man who had his army trying to take control of a country and they killed lots of nice people to do it.”
As Joey hugged his Grandpa again he noticed that there were lots of spots on the sleeve of Grandpa’s jacket. “Grandpa, your jacket looks like it is dirty. Can’t Grandma wash it for you before the parade?”
Grandpa paused before he spoke and Joey noticed that his Grandpa wasn’t smiling any more and that there were some tears in his eyes. “Joey, I will never wash away those spots. Those are from blood that was shed by a dear friend of mine who was shot during that battle. His blood got on my jacket as I pulled him behind a mound of dirt.”
Joey offered a suggestion, “Aren’t you supposed to put a band aid on when you bleed? That’s what Mommy does for me when I fall down.”
“Joey, I couldn’t have found a band aid big enough to cover where it was bleeding. My friend died from being shot and I will never wash his blood from my jacket. I will always remember what he did and how he died so that nice people could be free from a bad man like Adolf Hitler.”
Joey jumped off Grandpa’s lap and brought the tissue box from Grandma’s side of the bed. Grandpa blew his nose and rubbed the hair on the top of Joey’s head.
“Hey, Grandpa, in Sunday School my teacher said that Jesus had to bleed. She said that because he died on the cross we will be free. Isn’t that kind of the same thing that your friend did?”
“You know, Joey, my friend did a very brave thing. In fact there were 580 men from our regiment that were killed, captured or wounded in that terrible battle. That’s why those of us who are still alive are marching in the parade today. We want to remind people of the high price paid for their freedom. We want them to remember how many people died for them. That’s why you get to ride on the big wagon in the parade with other grandchildren and great grandchildren. There will be a big sign on the wagon that will say, “We did it for them.” Do you remember how to salute just like I taught you?”
Joey stood straight and gave as good of a salute that his Grandpa could expect from a five year old.
Grandpa saluted back at him. “Joey, I am glad to hear what you learned in Sunday School. Jesus had to fight a bigger battle than what we ever did. He had to fight against the devil and all the sin that the devil brought into our world. Many people were captured by the devil and needed to be set free from their sinful ways. Many people had forgotten about God and did bad things to other people. When Jesus died, we call that day “Good Friday” because it was good for all people of all time. All people who are sorry for their sins and believe that Jesus died for them are free now to follow him all the way to heaven.”
Joey smiled at his Grandpa, “Somebody should carry a sign in the parade that says, ‘Jesus did it for you’!”
Grandpa stood and picked Joey up into his arms as they headed downstairs. “That’s a good idea, Joey! That’s a message that everyone at the parade needs to hear.”
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