I’m not sure how old I was. A young kid of seven or eight I suppose. What I do remember is the house was less than two miles from my home. It was small and the family didn’t have much. I can’t remember their names but I can picture the scene in my head. It was a funeral. Just a small crowd and a simple service held in their home.

Their son had been killed in Vietnam. I didn’t know where that was but I heard them say he had been shot while on patrol by a sniper hiding in a tree. All I knew was that he was dead and he died in a war.

That is my earliest memory of war and soldiers. It made an impression on me. From time to time I recall that day and the young man I never knew who died a soldier’s death.

Perhaps that is why I started an annual patriotic celebration on the Sunday nearest July 4 when I was serving in Sumter and brought the tradition with me when I came to Rock Hill. Over the years it has grown into one of our most anticipated services.

This year’s Celebration of Freedom is going to be exciting and I’m looking forward to it. We’ve planned some new patriotic music and will give everyone attending a flag. As always we will recognize the veterans and those now serving in the military. There will be lots of applause and smiles. The room will be an explosion of red, white and blue and you don’t want to miss it.

Yet in the midst of all the excitement, for a moment at least, I will think about that day from long ago in a small house where the truest picture of patriotism was first painted for me.

Pastor Steve Hogg