Click for a larger image of the original photo of my uncle Jim (around 178K)

Click for the edited version of the larger image of my uncle Jim (around 200K)

I just want to say thanks to him and all the others have gone before him and after him for sacrificing themselves for the rest of us. We don’t know how good we have it until we stop to ponder what their sacrifice has provided us with. We are blessed to have walked in the footsteps of giants like my uncle Jim. Here is a copy of his purple heart certificate and a baby photo of him:

Click the photo for a larger image of Jim’s Purple Heart certificate.

One thing to remember in all of this is that my uncle (and everybody else who has died fighting for our way of life) was human. He had his likes and dislikes, and all the usual human foibles. And I wanted to share some of them with you in this entry. So here’s a little bit more about my uncle (courtesy of my mom) that will let you know something more about him than just his death.

He loved to ride on tobogans and he was always in the front seat.

He also loved to race bicycles.

He enjoyed fishing, skating and hiking.

He was an extremely polite and kind hearted person.

His favorite color was blue and (as you can tell from the photo) he had beautiful blue eyes.

He was about 6 foot 2inches tall and did the marine uniform proud.

He was a roman catholic and the first born brother of 20 children. Yes, 20. And all of them good souls too.

Rest in peace, Uncle Jim. Thank you so much for what you’ve given to all of us.