A lesson of freedom

As the polls open for the 2024 general election I'm reminded of this lesson from my father's life. When I go to the polls every election I feel as if I'm honoring all who've sacrificed so much through the generations so I can exercise that right. From the Suffragists to the men and women in uniform, all of you walk into the voting booth with me.   

My father was a 22-year-old Marine, assigned to driving a supply truck in Korea at the Battle of the Chosin with the First Marine Division. He survived that epic and historic battle. It was not until I was in my 40s and he was in his 60s that he opened up about his experience. It was harrowing to hear, but gave me great insight into how in that most unforgiving foreign land my father’s lifelong patriotism and gratitude took hold. 

One of the stories he shared of his experiences at the Battle of the Chosin was about the 90,000 North Korean civilians who walked out with the Marines. The temperatures were brutally cold, at least 50 below zero, and most were not dressed for that weather. But they walked … the elderly, the young, mothers with infants in arms. 

“They voted for freedom with their feet,” my father told me.

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Kerri Thoreson of Post Falls is the curator of the Ronald D. Rankin Veterans Memorial Plaza.