I never saw Grandpa face to face, you see he died just before I was born.  He lived a hero’s life — he died so I could live free.  He fought for freedom in Germany and France.  He waded through river banks and slept in a cold abandoned shed.  He spent time in a make-shift hospital healing from a shrapnel wound.  And as he boarded a train with discharge papers in his hand, a gunshot was heard.  With reflexes faster than the bullet, he lunged in front of three other soldiers who all fell to the ground.  They were safe but Grandpa lay there lifeless — he took the bullet for those men.  A letter was found in his pocket addressed to my grandma.  That same letter is with l my grandma always and she reads it over and over.  It says how much he loves her and asks her to tell his story to his grand children so they will know he, too, loves them.  And…”could you hug them for me as often as you hug them.”  So today, Grandpa, on this Memorial Day, as I stand next to your grave, here’s a paper hug from me — I love you, too.