TRIBUTE TO MANUEL M. LEST



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Manuel M. Lest

From Joyce Lest, Manuel M. Lest’s Daughter - I was praying tonight, and actually weeping, rather sobbing. I was thinking about my father, who is passed away. Out of the clear blue sky, an old army buddy of my fathers, called me...

We spoke for quite sometime about his experiences in WW2, with my father, and what they both referred to WW3 ,when my father married my mother, , you had to be there to understand...

Like Jeff's movie sea biscuit, my father had the very same kind of tenacity, the jockey and the horse displayed..In war he was a praying man, as all were when in battle...My dads buddy said, he could have worked for Disney, but my mother held him back. he was a marvelous example of pride and strength as an American..My dads friend said, when they returned from GuadalCanal, they helped build America...
and...they were forgotten...

It will be the one year mark, August 12, that my precious papa passed away..I miss him terribly, but all the good parts of him, live on, inside of me, and my son..he taught me about what love truly is , and tenacity...he believed in the sanctity of marriage, and stuck with my mentally ill mother, 54 years until she died..I can safely say, any other man would have left her long ago...

he fought a war 4 yrs and 5 months , in the South Pacific, lost a majority of His Company, and he and one other man was left standing, he had earned enough points to then come back home...He was in the hospital for a while , he had battle fatigue , and needed some rest...The war he never spoke about, but my dads friend who called tonight, spoke a bit about the courage my father had and the horrific things he and my dad were made to endure..


Even when my father was dying, and having a heart attack, he did his best not to let me know how much pain he was in..he was a prideful man, but I learned my ability to love and developed great compassion from HIM..So, the legacy lives on..

I may be ridiculed here for what I have shared about Love, and God, and all, but this legacy, was originated 2000 yrs ago...I am just carrying on the tradition..

My dads friend and I both said how the world has changed so much...So much anger, so much hatred and intolerance....People doing horrific things to each other, not regarding life anymore..

So, in my little corner of the world, I share love, for all our soldiers, all of our fellow man who try and stand up for what is right and what is good..

It hurts me, and cuts me to the quick, to see the people who choose hurting acts, and hatred,and strife and unkind acts upon one another, instead of perpetuating and building ourselves into a stronger nation, based on the values and morals of my fathers day...we seem to have reverted ourselves back to primitive behavior...

For me, I will not give up, for the Passion that burns inside my heart, is based on that stronghold, called Love, and the Brotherhood of Mankind...I may retreat from time to time, and gain my bearings, but ultimately, it is said and proven, Love wins out.....

I love you daddy, thank you for standing up for whats right, thank you for teaching me to fight for whats important and what I believe in..I pray I can carry on the torch of Love that burns within me, and that my son will choose to do the same...

In devout dedication and deepest love for you papa, I salute you, and thank you from my heart...

Love your daughter Joyce