In 2010, Lou Gentry wrote this article for our blog.  With Monday being Memorial Day, I thought it appropriate to re-post it today.  Enjoy!   ~ Stephen

Monday is Memorial Day – a time in which we honor our armed services personnel who paid the ultimate price in the defense of our country. A few years ago, I viewed the “Band of Brothers” when it initially premiered as a mini-series on The History Channel. The mini-series has subsequently appeared not only on the The History Channel, but also other television channels as well. If you like military history, you will be reminded of the sacrifices made by those who fought and died in World War II in the defense of our freedom as you view this series.

“Band of Brothers” was produced by the academy award winning actor Tom Hanks, and the well-known movie producer and director, Steven Spielberg. This historical dramatization allowed you to follow the men who formed Easy Company within the 101st Airborne, from their basic training in Fort Toccoa, Georgia, through the Normandy Invasion, to the end of the war. It probably reflected more realistically what our servicemen experienced in that war than any other war movie I’ve ever seen. That was because Hanks, Spielberg and their associates actually went out and found surviving members of Easy Company – men in their late 70’s and early 80’s – interviewed them, and incorporated their stories into this mini-series. Portions of these interviews were shown throughout the series, usually at the beginning or end of each of the ten parts. For me, this was the most interesting part of the program as these men shared their own individual thoughts of what they were going through as young men fighting far from home. When the series concluded, I was left with a greater appreciation of what is meant by the phrase, “The Greatest Generation.”

My heartfelt thanks to all who fought in this and subsequent wars, and who are fighting this day to protect the freedoms we enjoy in this country. May we never take these freedoms for granted, and may we never forget those who paid the ultimate price to protect them. may God grant our servicemen and servicewomen and their families a special blessing on this Memorial Day.