Veterans Day Response

Veterans Day was quite special for me. It took so long to blog this because my life has been a whirlwind of activity. The response to the POW/MIA memorial was electric.

The memorial reached people because it was the reality of men who are still unaccounted for that became real in the hearts and souls of those who saw the memorial, and read the American Legions Commanders Message. It reached to people in ways I could scarcely imagine.

I heard from so many during the toast about their fathers, uncles, cousins, friends and the sacrifice they made in conflict areas from Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima in WWII to French Indo-China, to Wai, Khe Sahn, Da Nang and Saigon during Vietnam.

I heard the romantic story of Rita’s Dad who left a love in San Francisco to marry and live in New York. I heard of how a young man got sent back to Iraq on a third tour of duty only to die before his unborn son could see his face.

We live our lives wrapped up in the never ending soap opera that has become our lives. We worry about our jobs, money, family, our future, the course of our lives and what we can do to get by, to make the right decision to effect the best changes. We speak out against what we are for and what we are against. We carry arms to defend ourselves and our loved ones, we go out and vote out all the low and immoral failures that we elected in the first place.

We live our lives, enjoy or exercise our liberties and pursue the desire of our hearts and minds with all the strength we can steal.

That is possible because somewhere in the world a 17 year old buck private is walking a watch at an armory in the middle of Nowhere USA,

it’s possible because a 20 year old soldier is up in the middle of the night typing casualty reports for her unit somewhere in Afghanistan, possible because a 32 year old Gunnery Sergeant is still at it after pushing 16 hours, making sure his company can fight at the drop of a dime.

We pursue our happiness because a young Captain has figured out how to move his company 5 hours faster, saving time and lives. We have the right to bitch and moan because a Lt. Colonel is force marching his battalion in the wind and rain for deployment to where the fight is.

We have the comfort of knowing a little girl sleeps safely tonight because a young man in a place far away is braving blazing heat or bitter cold, under fire or under boredom to defend these rights.

There are over 1,380,082 people on active duty defending and serving in the United States Armed Forces around the world. There are currently 310,779,000 people populating the United States. This means that less than .5% of the United States population is defending the rights and privileges of the rest. If you factor in 23.7 million living Veterans of the United States Armed Forces the number changes to less than 7 percent of citizens having defended the rest.

No matter what your political beliefs or your position on conflicts past or present, you are the beneficiary of the most dynamic republic with the most personal freedoms in the history of humankind. No Veteran will brag about his service in terms of having kept you free, but we are proud to have served this magnificent country and been part of its living history.

If we, who serve do take some bragging rights, it’s not in ourselves, but in you. During the toast I witnessed your love for this country and your veneration for those who have given some of their lives and especially those who gave all of their lives for the United States of America. We, who are Veterans, are always humbled and honored for the love and respect of you.

Thank You All.

DC