Tribute

War is hell. That has been stated many times by different Generals in the field. The nightmare is real. The risk is great.

During World War II many families were devastated by the loss of sons, brothers, fathers, or uncles. One family suffered a devastating blow when all five of the Sullivan brothers were killed with the sinking of their ship, USS Juneau.

Inelegantly lifted from another site: "The 'Fighting Sullivan Brothers' were national heroes. President Franklin Roosevelt sent a letter of condolence to Tom and Alleta. Pope Pius XII sent a silver religious medal and rosary with his message of regret. The Iowa Senate and House adopted a formal resolution of tribute to the Sullivan brothers."

Tom Sullivan was a man who could be forgiven for a total preoccupation with his own pain. His beloved sons, five sons, were all dead. The US Navy changed their rules to make sure that this would never happen again, forbidding men from the same family to serve on the same ship. The brothers had wanted to be together, but the cost was too high.

My uncle, Lawrence Richard Francis, was killed when the USS Borie was attacked and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-seven men died that night. My mother's only brother was lost at sea.

My grandfather, another Irishman who had come to America to find a better way of life, met Tom Sullivan in a bar – as good Irishmen do. They began to talk. They talked of the war and of loss. And my grandfather told the story of their commiseration which my mother repeated for us.

The story says that my grandfather asked the grieving Tom, "How can you stand it?"

And a man who could be forgiven anything looked at his friend and with the most generous sentence I have ever heard uttered simply replied, "Frank, all your sons are all your sons."

My grandfather died when I was just three months old. I've never met Mr. Sullivan. But whenever I'm posed a question about generosity, this story comes to mind.

It is no wonder that the Sullivan brothers were willing to be there and support each other. We can hope that they were together to comfort each other in their final minutes. But it is my belief that they learned to be such caring people because their father showed them how.