A Bright and Shining Love

An inspiring response to my Memorial Weekend post

On Friday I published “Memorial Day: A Time for Recollection and Reflection, not Celebration.” It included a eulogy of sorts for a soldier, Garney Burleson. It has been widely republished on various sites, including Instapundit, The Federalist, and Real Clear Politics. It seems to have touched a chord, especially with veterans. The outpouring of comments, both private and public has been humbling. But one of the best came today.

As the original article notes, the Blue platoon leader who was with Garney when he was killed in action was a replacement for Garney’s first platoon leader who had been seriously wounded and evacuated. That platoon leader, then-Lieutenant Mike Nardotti, recovered and went on to a stellar Army career. He is respected and admired by everyone who knows him. He also is a subscriber here.

Today Mike wrote to me:

Dear John -

I shared your article with a few Veteran friends and our kids.  Our young son lives in Asheville.  Your article inspired him and his wife to take their boys to visit Garney’s grave about 25 minutes away.  The note was left by their two older boys -Walter, age six, and Warren, age four.  Their younger brother Hugh, age two, just watched.

Sincerely,

Mike

Here is Garney’s gravesite after they visited and the note Mike’s grandsons left.

I was hoping that my article might have a positive effect. Seeing this is the best I could have asked for. Thank you, Walter and Warren. And thank you to the entire Nardotti family for instilling such virtues in your boys.