A Veteran's Memorial Day Reflection. (This post is NOT political) The value of a bag of popcorn

Tonight,  I was making popcorn, not an unusual thing in the Lenz household in the evening. As I was making it, I reflected to February of 1991.

I was assigned to the 1157th Transportation Company and was in Southern Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. The 1157th was a very resourceful unit. We had the only ringer washers I seen in the combat zone and the only popcorn maker, as far as I knew.

Yes, you read that right a POPCORN MAKER.  Officially, it was a solvent tank and was transported in a plywood box marked as such. It was set up in the Command Post tent and generally had a  batch or two ready to be scooped out by any one that wanted to. We had several 50 LBS bags of popcorn. Soon after the cease fire was declared, as communications SGT I was tasked to find a HQ unit that could get a call home as my Commander needed to make contact to our families that we were all well.

So I located an HQ unit that had a satellite  phone and set up a time for the call. During my visit to that HQ unit,  I met a group of 6 soldiers running what we called an MSE node and got to talking to them and mentioned that we had popcorn. The SGT in charge of that node said if I could get enough popcorn for his team to enjoy for one day he would set us up with a "Bat Phone" ( It looked like the phone batman used ..kinda).   We could call home anytime we wanted to with that phone. The next day I brought them the goods, and he, true to his word, delivered a phone and we did indeed use it to call home pretty much at will. A very nice thing since we were a long way from a phone center.

So back to the premise of this story.  A solider, far from home, places value on things we all take for granted. A few hands full of popcorn made a huge difference to this small group of people serving this country in a wind swept, desolate outpost in the desert of Southern Iraq. I know our troops today have things a bit better but I am sure there are things valued as part of home.  That is true no matter what group or age of deployed soldier, there is always something they miss.

I know that those 6 troops never forgot that popcorn as long as I had contact with them. In time we were ordered out of Iraq and I didn't see the node team until I was getting ready to come home, I learned that the SGT and another member of the team had been killed in a vehicle accident while retrieving wire. That is the tragic nature of war. People die, some from bullets some from other things. None the less doing their job for their country with pride and honor.

So, every time I make popcorn I remember it's value, at least to us and a small group of soldiers far from home.

So this weekend try not to take your everyday things for granted.

 Have a good Memorial Day.

Remember some gave all.