William Henry Brush, Jr joined the Army at the beginning of  WWII and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel quarter of a century later. He won a Purple Heart during WWII for taking a bullet from a Nazi and still managing to carry a wounded soldier back to the base. He was stationed in Korea, Japan, Germany, Paris, and finally, Washington DC, where he worked in Military Intelligence (during JFK’s Presidency and assassination!).

He was a hero.

But so was my grandmother, Marie Brush. She stayed home and cared for my mom, the house, the bills…everything in the  months that Grandaddy had to be away. And she packed up and moved…and moved…and moved when she needed to do that, too. Grandaddy was able to concentrate on doing the best job he could do because he knew all else was in the capable hands of his wife, a woman who sacrificed her personal comfort not just for her husband, but for her country.

Grandaddy went to be with Jesus over twenty years ago, and I still miss him today. Because he wasn’t just a great soldier, he was a great man. He was loving and funny and told great stories. He was a man of God and a man of convictions. He wasn’t perfect, but, to me, he was pretty darn close.

I am blessed to still have my grandmother here. She remains the strong woman God helped her become as a soldier’s wife. Widowhood was heartbreaking – she loved her husband dearly – but she knew how to continue on, even in difficult circumstances. She didn’t fall apart, but kept going. At 87, she still brings meals to the sick and visits friends in the nursing home and finds great joy in studying God’s word.

As I celebrate this Memorial Day, I celebrate this amazing couple. I am proud to be their granddaughter, proud of the heritage they handed down: love for this country and a commitment to the God of the Bible that this country was founded on.

“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and inheritance of a great example.” ~Benjamin Disraeli