Though We Flew Through the Valley of Death

"So you bought A sports car?" Clyde Stanton admonished Bud Flexor as he pulled up in Audrey Stanton's driveway where Clyde was staying after his discharge.  Audrey was Clyde's twenty four year old kid sister who lost her husband on some volcanic island called Iwo Jima A few months ago.

"Sure, it's an MG TC." Bud revved the four cylinder engine to add an exclamation to his statement.

"Whadit it cost ya?" Clyde rolled his eyes as he frequently did over the past two years when they had served as Army Air Corps on board a B-17 Flying Fortress.  Having flown in over thirty missions over Italy, both men had returned unscathed despite some harrowing missions.  As the commander used to say during the flight briefings, "It's a few hours of boredom followed by ten minutes of panic when you are over the target."

"Can you believe this guy, sis?" Clyde turned to his sister who was holding her baby.

"I think it's a dream car." She nearly swooned as the baby pulled unmercifully at her auburn hair.

"Got it for the cash in my wallet." Bud pushed his cap back on his head bristling with pride.

"You blew your discharge pay on this lemon of a car?" Clyde turned to his sister in disbelief, but she was already running her hand over the hood of the car.

Less than a year later, Bud Flexor drove his bride, Aubrey Flexor to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon while Uncle Clyde watched Audrey's two kids, Annie and Roy.  It would be almost five years before Clyde would hear wedding bells no matter how many times his sister would fix him up with some of her friends.  In the end, Clyde, a traveling salesman, would find a client's Secretary, the one for him.

He would never tell his bride, Emma about his time in the service.  Honoring his best friend's wishes, Bud did likewise though he would drive Clyde over to the VFW every Friday night while their wives stayed home playing pinochle with some of the neighbor's wives.

"We are gathered here to celebrate the life of Donald "Bud" Flexor who passed away earlier this week at eighty-nine-years old.  He was a veteran of World War Two.  He flew thirty eight missions in the Army Air Corps over Europe.  His wife Aubrey, as some of you may remember, passed away a few years back after a long courageous battle with cancer.  Her children Abigail Stronz and Roy Easton are here with us to celebrate the life of Donald Flexor.  But to say a few words is his best friend, a friendship that spans six decades, Clyde Stanton.” Reverend Holice Bryant concluded and then stepped aside in the pulpit to make room for Clyde who ambled slowly with the aid of his walker.  A couple of the altar assistants helped Clyde up the four steps leading to the pulpit. 

He stood there gazing out at the congregation after adjusting his glasses with the thick lenses before removing a folded paper from his jacket pocket.  Carefully he unfolded the brittle paper and put it under the microphone that he was to speak into.  After clearing his throat, Clyde read from the paper in front of him. “I’ve known Bud since our first mission over Anzio Beach targeting a German Panzer division that had our boys pinned down on the beach.”

He paused to wipe a tear from his wrinkled cheek.

“We was a whole lot younger back then.  We had to be, because we were shaken and bounced around in that tin can for a whole twenty minutes.  While some of the crew got spooked by the rattling, Bud read his Bible as he manned the tail gun.  I was the spotter.  I lay with my eyes fixed on the target site.  As soon as I spotted the Panzer tanks, I gave the pilot the signal and bombs began to drop all over the enemy. Then the sky filled with flak.  I could hear it ring off the metal frame of the plane.  In a matter of a few minutes, I could see the stars through the holes in the mainframe.  But in our first mission, we came back alive and we soon found out that was all that mattered.”   

He peered over at his sister’s children.  Abbie smiled at him.  It was hard for him to believe she was nearly sixty now and was a grandmother herself.  Roy had retired from the firm he had worked for and was planning a trip in his boat to the Caribbean. Clyde’s throat became thick with nostalgia.  He coughed before continuing. 

“Roy has been in an auto accident.” Bud was frantic, “Aubry is with him in the ER.”

It was close.  They had almost lost Roy.  It was bad enough Bud and Aubrey’s infant son had just stopped breathing one night. Bud was so devastated by this, he told Aubrey he could not take it if it ever happened again.  Together, they would have no more children. 

“Don.” Roy once said as he recovered from his massive injuries that would leave him with a permanent limp, “When I was in my coma, I saw my dad and he told me to rely on you for guidance. I don’t remember him at all.  I was a baby when he got killed.”

Bud squeezed the boy’s hand and held it to his face to wipe away his tears. 

When Abbie got married, Bud stood in for her father, because she loved Bud and how he used to attend her tea parties with her other stuffed animals as if he was reliving Alice’s tea party with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat.  Later when she was dating an abusive boyfriend, Bud crossed the line and told the loser to beat it.  While she screamed at him for doing such a thing, when her husband Calvin came into her life, she was grateful for what he had done.  

“I don’t have to tell you what a wonderful man Bud was.  He was always there whenever I or anyone he loved needed him.” He coughed again, “When my wife was in the final stages of her cancer, Emma asked him if we were in the war together and Bud told her that neither one of us was fit for military duty and in doing  so she went in peace.  It was a promise he made with me.  I never wanted her to know some of the things we went through over there.  Together, Bud and I flew through the valley of Death.  I watched so many B-17s fall from the sky with all hands on deck.  No survivors.  A few times I was sure that we’d never make it back to the airfields in Dover, but with the grace of God, we made it home.  I could hear Bud praying as one of our engines caught fire from the shrapnel. I have no doubt God was listening.  No doubt.  And so with that said, I am speaking so He will hear my prayers to my best friend, Donald ‘Bud’ Flexor.” 

His voice failed him as his tears took control.  Teardrops hit the paper in front of him.  The sound was picked up by the microphone.  Both Roy and Abbie bowed their heads as his sobs were also picked up. After drying their eyes, both Abbie and Roy came forward to help him down from the pulpit, but he shooed them away.  They both stayed on either side of him as he continued his eulogy to his best friend.

  “He introduced me to Emma, you know.” His voice was barely a whisper, “He told me his company could use some of the products I was selling.  So I came over to his office and the first time I laid eyes on Emma Stokowski, I was in love.  For those who think love at first sight is a myth, I am here to testify that it is true. She told me that Bud was the best boss she had ever worked for.  Back then women didn’t have it so easy with employment.  If their boss wasn’t chasing their skirt, then they made them work long hours without paying them their due.”

“One day they’re going to send women into combat.” Bud said one morning  as we sat on his front porch eating grapefruit. 

“Never happen.” I waved him off.

“”Why not?” Bud turned to look at me with his thin face and beak-like nose.

“Not going to happen.” I reasserted. 

“We had nurses in Italy.” He shook his head.

“Sure, sure, but they didn’t fly in the planes.” I pointed my spoon at him to make my point clear.

“We got this thing going on.  President Kennedy is supporting the democratic government of South Vietnam.” He held up the newspaper that had a story about sending American troops to Saigon. “Someday the brass is going to figure out that women will make good soldiers.” 

“Combat soldiers?  People won’t stand for it.  Not in the least. Do you want to see Abbie go off to fight an enemy?” 

“Could happen one day, Clyde.” He turned his head to see her make a chalk drawing on the sidewalk.  “Women can be as good as men if only someone would give them a chance.” 

Abbie did her four years in the army where she learned how to march and fire an M-16.  While the army never sent her into combat, she had no fear of going where men only had been allowed.  Roy had no interest in joining up.  He was a senior in high school when the war in Vietnam ended.   

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Veronica Stronz enlisted and served in a combat unit in Iraq.  One night on patrol, her Humvee ran over an IED and she would wind up losing her left leg. 

Sitting about three pews back with her husband and children, Veronica Taylor watched as she held her toddler who would otherwise run a race up and down the aisles. 

“There’s Uncle Clyde.” His voice sounded over the congregation.  She shushed him, but could not conceal her amused smile in doing so.  

“While we were best friends, I always found him impulsive and forward thinking.” Clyde continued, “I loved him because he challenged me to think for myself.  What seemed like a good idea to me when he had a word with me, the whole thing was not as clear cut as I thought.  I remember hearing about soldiers who liked other soldiers.  God did not create us to pair up by the same gender.  Men were made to be paired with women.  The Bible tells us so right from the get-go in the garden, but Bud always seemed to see things differently.  He read a lot.  He got these ideas that Jesus loved homosexuals, too.  And then one day Roy comes home from college and comes out of the closet as they say.  I was stunned, but then Bud asked me if I was going to love Roy any less because he was gay.  When I see him, I think about all of the good things he has done in his lifetime.  He sits there with his life-partner, Kevin and I see with my own eyes how much they love each other and I think to myself ‘how can God not love both of them?’ 

“I know you’re not my father, but Don, I am coming out.” Roy struggled with his words.

“Are you happy?” Donald asked his stepson.

“Oh yes, Kevin and I are very happy together.” Roy grasped Don’s hand.

“Then I say be happy with each other.” Don smiled.

“We are getting married.  We want you to be the best man.” Roy stated.

“Marriage?  Is that even legal in this state?”

“Probably not, but I’m sure we can find someone who will bend the rules a bit.” Roy laughed. 

“I know someone.  I will give them a call.” 

“What about mom?” He asked. 

“I will have a talk with her.” 

“I attended their wedding.  It was as beautiful as any wedding I’ve ever been to.  My sister had to wipe a steady flow of tears from her eyes as they exchanged vows.  I truly felt God’s presence when both of them said, ‘I do.’  When I think of a hero, Bud is the first person who comes to my mind.  Through sixty years of friendship, I have been blessed with his special presence in my life.  I still do not like that sports car.  He kept it in the garage and treated it as if he was a child.  Every week, he’d be out there simonizing and buffing it out.  Then he’d call me and ask if I wanted to go cruising.  You know that the passenger seat never had adequate leg room.  I always got a leg cramp whenever I rode shotgun.  He would tell me it was just part of the ride.  He acted like a teenager when he was behind the wheel.  A real James Dean for sure.” He stumbled a bit,  Abbie was there to steady him, “I am sorry that my elegy was a bit long winded, but it’s hard to encapsulate all that time we spent together and the experiences we had. Some of the things they are teaching my grandkids in school were things that we lived through…though we flew through the valley of death, having him at my side made everything alright.  He would read his Bible before taking the tailguns in his hands to blast the enemy planes from the sky. I never knew that those difficult times would just be a taste of what was to come.  The future is a scary place.  So many things can go wrong…” 

Veronica hugs her child and husband.

“So many unexpected things can change the course of our lives.  We never know when the big moments have come until we get through them.  Hindsight is 20/20.  Most of our life is encased in memories.  Some are happy.  Some are sad.  Some are confusing.  Some are unexpected.  But when we piece them all together, we see this beautiful tapestry that is the story of our lives.  As for me, I am grateful that Bud’s thread has been there all along to keep my life from falling apart.”

Tears fell freely as Roy and Abbie walked him from the pulpit and back to his place in the congregation.

“Uncle Clyde, I have to go do something special.  I will see you outside.” Roy held his uncle’s arm.  With tears in his eyes, he smiled.

“Roy, you do what you must do.” He nodded. Turning to Abbie, he said, “I like that picture of him in his flight suit back in 1944.  He was so handsome.”

“So were you.  So were you.” Abbie nodded. 

“I am going to miss him.  The biggest pain in my ass.  I loved him for everything he did.” He removed his handkerchief and wiped his tears. 

Slowly he made his way out of the chapel as Abbie walked next to him.  He was quiet upon his departure, but his face told the whole story of two men who would be lifetime friends. 

Someone honked a car horn.  When Clyde looked up he saw Roy behind the wheel of the MG.  

“That infernal car…” Clyde said under his breath.

“Uncle Clyde.” Roy called out as he exited the car. “It would be my stepfather’s honor if you were to drive this car in his funeral procession.”

“Are you crazy?  I don’t know how to drive that thing.” He squawked.

“It would be an honor if you did.” Roy insisted.

“That piece of crap?” He growled. 

“Please.” 

An honor.  Their friendship had been an honor and in this final act of honor, Clyde would do his duty.  With Roy’s assistance, Clyde got into the driver’s seat and honked the horn.  Many cheered to see him at the wheel of the old sports car that Donald Flexor had treasured as he had their friendship.  Clyde would drive the car which had become a symbol of friendship.  As the cars began to move, Clyde thought, “We should all be so fortunate.”