catapult magazine

catapult magazine
 

Vol 7, Num 7 :: 2008.04.04 — 2008.04.18

 
 

Kept objects

I keep something that is more than just a token.

Hanging on the wall near my computer is a framed certificate of appreciation to me from the government of South Korea. It acknowledges and thanks me for my service in the Korean War.  I surely wasn’t singled out to receive it, for there was nothing distinguished about my military service there.  Identical certificates were likely sent to more than a million American survivors of that conflict. Other people may see its issuance as a routine, perfunctory, even meaningless gesture, but I cherish it, for I was there.  My part in the struggle was minute, but it cost me more than a year of my life and was performed in a sincere effort to preserve the safety and freedom of the South Korean people.  I know that many Koreans feel a deep sense of gratitude for what we strove to do for them, and some have thanked me personally.  One person’s junk is the treasure of another to whom it represents a poignant and profound experience.  Nostalgia is a solo flight.

David Recher

 

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