MESSAGES - Love, Hope & Healing in Spirit
 May 2009
Greetings from Maryland!

Memorial Day weekend is here.  I'm writing to you from a vintage coffeehouse in a historic downtown area of a small town in Maryland.    I parked my car on Veteran's Lane and can see the VFW from where I sit.   It seems peaceful as I sip decaf French Roast, and yet reminders of war are all around.  Not far from here are the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields. 
 
Visiting these battlefields can be difficult for someone who is psychic.  It is easy to be overwhelmed by the intensity of emotion imprinted on a place by a traumatic past.  When I was about 10, my mother took me to experience history at Gettysburg; a well intended lesson resulted in my becoming so distraught that I had to be carried from the battlefield and remained inconsolable for days. 
 
I haven't returned to Gettysburg since and in fact, shy away from such places.  However, several years ago, a client convinced me to come to Texas to connect with Spirit there.   Of course, I had to visit the Alamo. . .
 
The Alamo's immense place in history isn't defined by its diminutive size.  I arrived in San Antonio in the evening and by the time I reached the shrine, it was nearly 10 p.m.  Although I knew things would be locked up at that hour, I wanted to see what it was like without the buzz and crush of visitors.
 
As I walked along the Alamo's perimeter, I heard what sounded like leaves whispering in the wind.  As I stood by one of the barricaded "windows," I realized that there was no wind and I was hearing the whispering of voices - - lots of voices.  The words were indistinct, but the cumulative effect of the sound pushed me along to the square with almost physical force.
 
A lone guard stood in the well lit square in front of the Alamo's main entrance where I took a seat on a bench.  At that point, the voices were hushed and an almost holy silence surrounded us.  It was then that I began to pray for all those who had fallen on both sides of the battle. 
 
I've spoken with many soldiers now living on the other side - - those who died during the Civil War, charged up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War, served in World Wars I & II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and some who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.  In honoring their lives this Memorial Day, I'd like to share some of what they've taught me.  Please see the article below to read more.
 
For all those who have served in the past and are serving presently, thank you.
 
Hollister Rand
Spirits in Uniforms
Do those who die in battle continue to experience the horrors of war?
Arlington Cemetery
 
Visiting a battlefield site, hearing the emotional echoes of history and seeing soldiers in the mist is different from connecting to loved ones who have served in the military.   Any "charged" event (like a battle or any place where there have been massive fatalities) can imprint the place with images that can be seen and feelings which can be felt even centuries later. 
 
However, soldiers I've met in spirit have rarely discussed the horrors of the battlefield with me.  A British WWI soldier who passed due to poison gas merely said that his eyes started to burn, his lungs hurt, he couldn't breathe and then he suddenly found himself walking with a fellow soldier and friend who had died previously.  The reason he came through to his granddaughter during a session?  To thank her for traveling to Europe to visit his burial site and let her know that he was watching out for her son, his namesake, who was now serving in the American military.
 
Years ago during a development workshop, two soldiers on opposite sides of the same war showed up to say "hello" to female relatives who were workshop participants.   If memory serves me, one was German, the other Russian and the war was World War II.  Their battle deaths (one sounded gruesome, I recall) were specific in order to provide validation and yet were described dispassionately.  What we would assume they felt - - the fear and pain preceding sudden death - - weren't dwelled on at all!  Why did they come?  To connect with those in their family.
 
Are soldiers on the other side proud of having served in the military?  Do they still wear their uniforms?
 
Those in spirit who have served will often appear to me in uniform or holding up a uniform.  I remember a lady whose grandfather came to visit with her in uniform.  When she asked me what color the uniform was, I was momentarily blinded by how white it suddenly became!  His medals were glinting.  When I told her this, she laughed and said, "That's my grandfather.   (He had served at the highest level in a foreign military service, loved his dress white uniform, wore it at every family gathering and was buried in it as well.) 
 
Recently I met a man in spirit wearing a uniform I didn't recognize.   After I described it, his granddaughter confirmed that this was indeed her grandfather's uniform.  One of her prized possessions was a photo of him in his uniform taken while he was in the Italian military during WWII.  
 
At a small spirit circle, I noticed a number of Confederate soldiers standing behind a gentleman.  It was confirmed later that not only did this man have relatives who served with the southern states during the war, his family sheltered Confederate soldiers on their land.  The soldiers dropped by to thank the family.
 
By wearing uniforms when they come communicate with me, those in spirit are most often providing personal identifiers and expressing their place in family history. 
 
Do soldiers on the other side express a continued interest in war?  Do they help our soldiers now overseas?
 
During a session, a father in spirit showed me a pile of books on WWII aircraft.  He expressed to me that he was still reading the books, but this time with his son.  The son mentioned that he had been looking through his father's old books and was wondering whether his father could see him doing it.   Once again, the emphasis wasn't on war itself, but the connection of father to son.
 
One sitter laughed out loud when her father in spirit said, " I'm going to give General Eisenhower a piece of my mind."  This was a longstanding family joke because her father thought he could have run the war a bit better than the general himself. 
 
At a demonstration of mediumship, a young Marine who died in our current war came through to speak with a friend and fellow serviceman in the audience.  He mentioned that he was sticking by another comrade in arms who was still overseas.  The Marine in spirit also told his friend in the audience that he understood his choice not to re-up;  that he knew about his plan to pursue a career in computers and take care of his wife and new baby.  These three young men had gone to boot camp together and served together.  Their bonds of loyalty and love remained intact - - these bonds transcend separation by distance and even death.

Bonds of loyalty and love do indeed remain intact and transcend the separation we call death.