God speed, Major Winters...

... and flights of angels sing thee to they rest.

Truly, now cracks a noble heart.

I'm not sorry we didn't knock at his door. As my Bund brothers have said, Mr. Winters earned the privacy, and had meeting the man been the real reason for our trip, then we could have tried harder to arrange something with him ahead of time. No, the trip was to get close enough to touch what was important to us... not the touch itself.

We have touched history so many times, haven't we? Ryan has shaken the hands of Presidents, I met the last living WWI veteran (now of ANY nation that fought there... he just turned 109), we stood on the steps of the home of a WWII hero, Jambo and I grew up listening to stories from John Ochsenbauer, who has shaken the hand of both Eddie Rickenbacker AND John "Blackjack" Pershing (whom he served with when they chased Pancho Villa back into Mexico), we stood on the crest of Little Round Top, walked the Wheat Field, looked over the bluffs at Vicksburg, we've stood inside Independence Hall, walked the halls of Oxford, the decks of battleships and submarines, stood over the graves of Chaucer, Handel, Dickens, Ben Franklin, Peter the Great and Edward the Confessor, we've stood in the homes of Jefferson Davis, James J Hill, Betsy Ross, Alexander Hamilton, Alexander Pushkin, the Czars of Russia, and we have seen the works of such timeless artists as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Christopher Wren, Frank Lloyd Wright and Faberge.

No, we made the effort to go... but the result wasn't disappointing. I was in Red Square numerous times while I was in Moscow... but could never go inside St Basil's Cathedral due to restoration work within. I don't feel cheated or saddened because I never saw the frescos within... the building is stunning and breath-taking from the outside as it is. Standing on the steps of that great building was as meaningful to me as standing on the steps of Richard Winter's home... it was the trip and the intention that meant the most, not the end result.

We've plenty to pass to our legacies... and plenty to show them before we pass. It reminds me of a time when I took the family to NY state to see Liz's siblings. We drove past one of the many small, private graveyards that dot this part of the country and, as it was near a stop sign, Nolan noticed that there was a gravestone dating a death in 1743. We stopped for just a moment to look over the wrought-iron fence and noticed that the stone was inscribed as belonging to a "faithful servant of the Crown" and it really brought home the fact that when that man died... he died within the borders of the British Empire under the Rule of George II. Right here in New York State... the graves of British citizens still give evidence that this was NOT always the United States of America... even our short history is older than that.

Anyway... God rest your good soul, Mr. Winters. You've earned your peace and reward.