Monday, December 6, 2010

Remember The Past, Face The Present, Look To The Future

Today I did the CFS daily WOD: "Murph" in 32:15. I know I've done this WOD at least a handful of times in the past 2 years but for whatever reason, I guess I've never recorded my time- or if I did- I've since lost it. So, here's to a PR!? I guess. It was good. I pushed hard through the cold on the first mile run and finished it in exactly 6 minutes. I broke my 300/200/100 Squats/push ups/pull ups into 10 sets of 30/20/10 which worked great until rounds 4-6. They were those rounds where you start trying to block out that annoying little voice in your headspace that chatters, "Cochise, your getting tired. It's only round 5. I bet you can't even imagine how much more rounds 6 through 10 are gonna suck!" But, listen I didn't and slug away I did, until at 25:06 I found myself through all of the reps and running out the door. It took me until mid-way through the 2nd mile to pick back up a decent pace. I needed a good conditioning WOD today and as always, "Murph" delivered.

Although I have never served in the armed forces, it's easy for me to approach the Hero WODs with great reverence as my grandfather, Vicente Repuyan, fought for the Filipino Army in conjuction with the US Army against the Japanese during World War II. I remember grandpa as a tall, athletic, yet quiet man who loved his family dearly. Although he was reserved, his still waters ran deep. As a child, when I would ask him about his WWII experiences he would tell me, with great detail, about the time he spent as a prisoner of the Japanese, and of his survival of the infamous Battaan Death March where as many as 11,000 US and Filipino soldiers lost thier lives in captivity due to starvation, execution, and disease. By God's grace grandpa managed to survive the ordeal because he could cook, so the Japanese soldiers thought him valuable enough to keep alive and put him in charge of preparing food. I, on the otherhand, would've been royally screwed (unless easy mac'n'cheese was readily available, in which case I could've hooked it up daily, yo). His menu was limited as rats, snakes, and monkeys were the only fare available in the jungles of Luzon. In retrospect, I think Grandpa spoke openly to me of the things he experienced because he felt that, as a child, I would be a safe soul to confide in. He probably also knew that it wouldn't be until years after his death that I would even begin to fully comprehend the magnitude of what he lived through. The morning he was captured, he was sitting in camp preparing to put his boots on. As he bent down to place his boot on his foot, a sniper shot him through his left shoulder. As he fell to the ground and his comrades scattered for cover around him, the sniper fired again, this time striking him in his thigh. Bleeding profusely and unable to escape, Japanese troops quickly emerged on his position and took him captive. Miraculously, he recovered from those bullet wounds, survived the death march, and was ultimately rewarded when General Douglas MacAuthor liberated the Philipine Islands. The United States awarded my grandfather with the Purple Heart and offered him and his family US citizenship if he would, in turn, join the US Army and continue the fight against the Japanese in the South Pacific. He accepted. And because of his bravery, his willingness to protect his homeland, and his desire to pave the way for our family to have a better life, I now have the awesome privilege of calling the United States my homeland. As I pursue God's will for my life, I am eternally grateful to the many heros who have fought, are currently fighting, and who may someday fight to preserve the American dream.

2 comments:

  1. i love this. it won't be too many years before you will need to pass this information on to vin....so he, like you, can carry it with them deep in his soul. we owe who we are to those who have gone before us. it's our responsibility to pass it to our children so those who sacrificed are not forgotten.

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  2. Very nice tribute to your grandfather Jeremy... he would be proud of the man you've become! And I agree with everything Sherri said above.

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