Today is Memorial Day, and it brings back memories of my long departed friend Ted. Ted was like a dad to me, and he had many interesting stories. He certainly made me a better shot with the old 03 Springfield. A U.S. Marine stationed in China before the U.S. entered WWII, Ted was lucky to be alive. Many of his fellow China Marines never made it back. Ted would talk about them sometimes. His memories of those days were sharp. Decades latter, he could still remember the serial number of his '03 and the serial number of his bayonet.

Ted lived life to the fullest. He loved to fly a Piper airplane. And he made friends easily, many of whom were much younger than himself. You never got the feeling you were around an 'old guy' with Ted. We were lucky to have a great friend like him.

And so, I remember Ted today and all of his fellow U.S. Marines. These men where on the front line for us when WWII began and did not make it back.