Every memorial day people go to parade and see the veterans in cars riding down the street and for a brief minute those veterans have the respect that they deserve. That is the problem, people do not understand the events that they have gone through. They have taken their last breath for us. There are many stories from veterans around the world that shine the light on the truth of war and what really happens.

For example, this older gentlemen William Keys who is from 91st Infantry Division, Army, who fought in WWll in Bologna, Italy has a very shocking story. He was guarding highway 65 and a jeep came up and didn’t stop and he told the man in the jeep that if he keeps going he won't live. So william goes into the woods and starts to look for more infantry, all of a sudden there was a machine gunner and the first burst took his belt off with ammo, grenades and first aid kit. He jumped back and the next burst peirced his stomach/belly button and his intestines fell out out on the dirt. So he sat down and started to clean them off and put them back in and put his shirt in his pants and knelt his knee up against his stomach to keep them inside. He picked up his gun and killed the machine gun crew and his platoon of 15 men had just witnessed what william had done and he get an award.

In conclusion veterans these days are not getting enough respect from children and some adults. People don’t completely understand what happens during war until they hear it first hand from a veteran themselves like this veteran William Keys. This man’s story changed my view on how much strength, courage and perseverance it takes to put your life on the line. He fought not just for his life when he was on the ground with his intestines out he fought for the American dream.