Remembering Grandpa Johnnie

This Saturday we buried Rachel's grandfather, Johnnie Hajek, Sr., in his hometown of Shiner, Texas.  His obituary provides a detailed account of his life, accurately reflecting that he was a great man and an American hero.

I had met Johnnie three or four times before he ever told me he had fought in the Army in WWII.  It was my fifth or sixth visit before he told me he was a prisoner of war.  He never once told me the details.  Just that he survived.

On the battlefield Johnnie was strong and impossibly courageous.  In life he was humble, kind, smart, funny and loving.  My wife and children are incredibly blessed to share in his genetic legacy and he will be greatly missed.