There used to be a U.S. Army Reserve Center on St. John’s University’s Campus, down the street from my childhood home in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
When I was a little kid, I would watch as men dressed in army fatigues walked past my house and over the small path that separated our dead-end street from the Center.
The reservists came once a month to honor their duties. Their presence taught me that war was part of life and they had made a commitment to serve their country.
On summer days when the Reservists were not in session, I would walk past the Center with my mother and pick the wild daisies that grew on their front lawn.
Second Lt. Thomas J. McDonald Army Reserve Training Center (ROTC Center) St. John’s University