Steve West: A photo, a medal, and a bracelet

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, May 24th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next: WORLD commentator Steve West with a reflection on what Memorial Day means for his family.

STEVE WEST: Like many of my generation, I have a father who served in World War II. I don't know a lot about his service. Men who returned from World War II often didn’t talk about the experience much. My father didn't. He died at 46, when I was 14, and I knew little about a time period that had to loom large in his mind. What I do have is a photo of him in uniform, a Purple Heart medal, and an identification bracelet with the number, 34603355.

From his home in North Carolina, he left the state for the first time to serve in northern Africa. From there he went to Sicily, Italy, and then Luxembourg, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It was there he became separated from his fellow soldiers, stepped on a landmine, and lost his leg up to midway between his knee and ankle.

He came home decorated with the medal, which I keep in a desk drawer with the photo and worn metal bracelet imprinted with my father’s name and serial number. Presumably, it would allow him to be identified if he were killed in action. By God's grace, my Dad did not die when so many others did. He was not shot. Nor did he die from the landmine, though he bore its wound for the rest of his life.

Aubrey Vance West Photo courtesy of Steve West

This is all I know. My sister once attempted to track down his military history, but like many others came to a dead end. A 1973 fire at a massive military records center in St. Louis destroyed many veterans’ records.

So what remains are a trio of artifacts—a photo, a medal, and a bracelet. They carry weighty memories, stories, and meanings—and mysteries. In a digital age when what’s on screen seems ephemeral and insubstantial, artifacts point outward to things we need to remember. God created a world of particular things, and when He created, when He redeemed, and when He ultimately restores creation, it will be flesh and blood, dirt and rock and water, and we will not be disembodied spirits roaming over a great nothingness.

In fact, Scripture is replete with particulars—names, places, and times. Even Eden is not some dreamy wisp of a place like Shangri-La. It’s rooted in space and time by two rivers that still flow, the Tigris and Euphrates.

Racing ahead, Scripture offers details about a new heaven and a new earth—a city 12,000 stadia in length, height, and width, with walls made of jasper, streets of gold, and foundations in precious stones.

My father’s serial number, 34603355, is not just a number. It points to a person worthy of being remembered for what he points to—a loving God who cares for His creation. He’s the one who saved my Dad.

He’s also the one who has saved our country, so far. Until Christ returns, the Bible warns wars will continue. But God’s good purposes remain. Take a moment this Memorial Day and be grateful for those who were wounded or gave their lives for a country they counted worth dying for—and for the ones who continue to do so.

I’m Steve West.

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