Freedom is not free. Soldiers endured suffering, homesickness and death. My time with Al Gibson, a veteran at the Cole Land Transportation Museum, showed me that freedom can be defined as anything you value and that it comes at a cost. He is a noble and experienced man who was able to shed light on the cost of freedom.

Gibson spoke about serving in the Korean War. He said it was bitter cold and that the terrain was rugged. He told me that sometimes in war soldiers would be in the trenches for hours, even days at times. Fingers and toes would often go numb from the intense weather. In the trenches, food was frozen, with no way of completely thawing it. Letters never reached soldiers and when they did they were weeks old. Gibson witnessed many deaths and the destruction of communities and crops.

Freedom really isn’t free because someone sacrificed, suffered or died so we can have freedom. The sacrifices of veterans would all be for nothing if we didn’t have freedom. I think everyone should take the time to consider the cost of the freedom we cherish.

Michael D’Amico


