We lost an American Hero Yesterday.

[Bill Lundberg]

My Grandfather passed away.

As a child he was always a man I looked at as a hero. Mostly because of his superior fishing skills and the way he could fix anything. In his death, I sit here reflecting on his life and I realize he truly was a hero. He served his country in WWII. He stormed the beaches of Normandy and came home with a purple heart.

Upon arriving home he married the girl he had fallen in love with just months before leaving for the Army. She kept every letter he wrote, hundreds of them over the 4 years he spent over seas. Together they raised 4 children and spent over 50 years together before Grandma passed on.

He then went to work for John Deere and never missed a day in his 40 years there. He was an active member of the American Legion and a pillar of his community.

Looking back, this man bled red, white, and blue. With all that is going on in our country it makes me extremely proud of my grandfather and the thousands of others who fought to preserve the freedoms we now often take for granted.

It was his time. He'd spent the last 6 years in a wheelchair in a nursing home after 3 strokes, he couldn't communicate effectively, though his mind was as sharp as ever. I could see the frustration in his eyes. Only one side of his body had movement. He was ready to go be with his wife and youngest son. Today I have no doubt he is wearing a huge smile as he looks down on those of us he's left behind...

He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten!