I hope you all have a terrific Memorial Day. Rest, relaxation and maybe some education as well. I stumbled on this Sunday morning when I was looking for something to listen to before working out and before church and the stars just aligned perfectly with Memorial Day arriving the next day. The podcast in question is Art of Manliness and this particular podcast tells the story of World War II hero Ed Dyess.

Dyess was originally from Albany and is buried there today. Dyess went to Tarleton College before enlisting for World War II. Dyess was deployed to the Philippines and was eventually captured by the Japanese after the Battle of Bataan, participated in the Bataan Death March, was one of only a handful of people who escaped and lived to tell about the atrocities of the treatment of the men on that march. Dyess was training in California to return to the World War II front when a plane he was flying lost an engine. There was a civilian on a road where Dyess could have crashed his plane, but rather than take out that civilian, Dyess stayed with his plane and perished upon the crash landing. Dyess was deployed at the tender age of 25 and died at the all-too-young age of 27. Really a terrific and tragic story and with Dyess being from West Texas, I thought this was all too appropriate to give you all an opportunity to give a little reflection on this Memorial Day.

Enjoy your day and stay cool.