The Patriots: Soldiers from two different wars mark this country's blessings
Raymond Matthews of Goose Creek and Erik Sheldon of Summerville don't just fly the flag on the Fourth of July.
They fly it every day.
And with good reason.
Their patriotism runs deep.
The soldiers from two very different wars know what sacrifices the country made to guarantee everyone's rights to fly the flag or carry a gun or speak freely.
Matthews, 84, took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy as an underwater explosives expert with the Navy 64 years ago.
Sheldon, 22, returned in June from America's fight against terror in Afghanistan, where the Army National Guardsman guarded American troops that were training Afghan police officers.
Generations apart and in very different methods of combat, they share the experience of war that most Americans will never witness and the fight to guarantee freedoms most Americans take for granted.
Read more in Friday's editions of The Post and Courier.
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