Naked Man Moleskin

CoT:

Bad news for you guys & that is breakfast is not for another 30 mins so I get some time to talk.  Men I have always been an admirer & have had the upmost respect for men that have served our country so today I wanted to share a little bit about one of those men who served our country who was incredibly influential in my life.  He was a pilot in the US Air Force who fought in WW II, Korea, & Vietnam but more importantly he was my Grandfather Major “Mac” McCarty.  When he passed away in 2005 I thought that I might speak at his funeral but at the time I was not brave enough or had enough courage to do that.  So today I would like to read to you some notes that I had wrote down 15 years ago that I have never shared & what I was going to say that day.

Webster’s Dictionary defines hero as:  legendary figure endowed with great strength or ability, a man admired for this achievements & noble qualities, one that shows great courage.  The only problem with this definition is there is not a picture of Mac McCarty next to it.

My father passed away 10 years ago & I did not have a lot of male role models in my life but Major Mac was a man that I modeled my behavior after.  Since his passing I have received some letters from some of his Air Force brethren that talked about the man he was.  Let me just share a little bit of what those letters said about Major Mac & you can understand why I have modeled my behavior after him:

1. Mac strived for perfection in everything he did & always fulfilled his commitments
2. He did not have many of the financial advantages or physical presence as the men he was competing against but he had persistence & overcame the odds
3. He never complained & always did what he was asked to do
4. He was a leader but quiet in nature & a humble man
5. When the pressure was on was when he was at his best
6. He was unselfish, giving, & a man you could count on

I want to leave you with this excerpt from one of the men he flew close with. I think this sums up major Mac pretty well.

On one occasion, one of our other planes was badly in battle & b/c of a lost engine they had to drop down & lag behind the formation, which was always fatal.  I wasn’t about to let the poor sucker try to make it home alone, so I dropped down & flew beside him.  As we were stumbling along, I called back to my tailgunner “can you see the rest of the formation?” and the reply came back, “No, they are long gone, but McCarty’s party is right behind us.” And that Ryan was the kind of man Major Mac was & the James Porter McCarty that I knew.”

Thanks for indulging me men.  There is not some grand morale of the story hear but I wanted to share that.  I guess ultimately my Grandfather is one of the reasons I get so passionate about giving back to organizations like MZHH whose mission is to help veterans b/c I have so much respect & admiration for everything they are have & are willing to sacrifice for others.  Truly the most selfless thing a man can do to give up everything for other human beings.  Aye!

Dear lord, thank you for this opportunity to wake up early in the gloom & experience your greatness.  We are humbled for the opportunity you give us every day to be in your glory & serve you as leaders in our communities.  Watch over those in our spoken prayers as well as those that are in our hearts that are not as fortunate as many of us & give them healing & strength in their struggles.  In your name we pray.  Amen!