I'm not very interested in history, but I recognize an opportunity when I see one. So when I heard the Mississippi State History club was having a World War 2 veteran speak, I knew I had to go.
When I heard about it I thought it was going to be a big deal because it is rare nowadays to get to hear from a veteran of the second World War. I invited some friends and went almost an hour early and ate dinner while we waited for the doors to open. Once we got in, I realized how few people were actually there which I thought was disappointing. But since because the only advertising I found was word of mouth and an article in the reflector, I suppose it was to be expected.
The veteran, Brad Freeman, was very old and I noticed when he sat down in a tall chair that his legs didn't hang like normal. He kept his legs pretty straight which we later learned was from getting hit with shrapnel in one knee and getting shot in the other, in two separate occurrences. The speaker talked slowly and low but he made the audience chuckle a lot and I think that makes him more personable. He held our attention and gave us very informative information about his part in the war. He earned many medals that I couldn't even start to list. He also parachuted onto the beach during D-Day.
When he allowed us to ask questions, many had questions for the man who had lived through worse times than all of us. The audience enjoyed the answers to things like: "were you scared to jump out of a plane?" and "what kept you motivated during the fighting?". Freeman kept is responses short and to the point, so the presentation ended in less than an hour. Afterward, everyone had the chance to go personally thank him for his service and his presentation. I had a great conversation with him where I got to ask some more personal questions like "what were your favorite things to do on the base?" and "who did you spend the most time with?". He mentioned that he was going to pin a relative of his in a Navy ceremony the next day. He also said he attended 78 reunions because they occurred annually.
Brad Freeman, born in 1924 and proud of it, was a great speaker and is just one of the great presenters that many can see on a college campus. If you get the chance to speak to a war veteran, or anyone presenting at MSU in the near future, don't miss out. You can learn a lot from these experienced leaders.
