Love Is An Action

How do you define love?

We all often proclaim, I just ‘love’ my new shoes or that great new wall clock I picked up at The Willows! But true, deep profoundly passionate and tender affection for another… well, how often is that true?

Dictionary.com says love is:  

[luhv]

–noun

1.

a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.

a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

In 1942 on the shores of Dieppe, our grandfather, Richard Wallace, lived out the meaning of love. On August 19th his Regiment took part in Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid. He was with his troops on the beaches of Dieppe. A brutal attack from the Germans left many dead, many more wounded and suffering. Grandpa Dick stayed on the beach to help his wounded comrades rather than leaving them to escape. He didn’t have to. No one asked him to. Only love compelled him to. His tender affection for the men he served with and his affection for doing the right thing ~ helping when it was so desperately needed ~ caused him to stay and tend the wounded.

In an article by Jacqueline Chartier is a statement about the photograph above. "A dominant image featured at the Calgary museum of the regiments is a touching, larger than life-size photo of Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Wallace rendering first aid on the beach. Wallace was with the Calgary Tanks on that fateful day in 1942. The Germans photographed him bent over tending to an injured comrade -- a soldier lying face down and helpless on the rocks."

For us, this is a picture of love in action. And this is our legacy of love.
To so many men and women who serve the cause of freedom,
in whatever capacity, we extend our gratitude.

You can read all of Jacqueline's article here.