Tomorrow we celebrate Veterans Day. Thank you to all the men and women who have served our Great Nation! I want to share the presentation I gave at the Salute American Heroes event in The Colony on Saturday evening. God Bless our troops, our veterans, Texas and God Bless the USA! The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1918 gave way to the end of fighting in the World War I campaign. The day became known as “Armistice Day.” It wasnt until 1954 that Congress passed a bill, signed into law by President Eisenhower, that the name was changed to Veterans Day; A day to honor and recognize all veterans, living and deceased. Therefore, we honor all veterans on the 11th of November. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which we observe on the last Monday of May. On Memorial Day we commemorate all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. When we who served this great country took our oath of service, we wrote out a blank check. The check was written to: “We the People of the United States of America” as declared in the Preamble to the US Constitution. In the amount section we vowed, “Up to and including my life.” Whether a veteran served during times of war or peace, we each knew that at a moment’s notice that check could be cashed with “My Life.” We served anyway. I believe it is for this reason that General Douglas MacArthur said, “The soldier, above all people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” Tonight, while we thank and honor all veterans who honorably served in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, I want to place emphasis on a specific group of veterans, The Combat Veteran. Combat Veterans are those in the ranks who did suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. While the check was not cashed for their “Life,” it was cashed at a great expense. Once a service member experiences the horrors of war, they will never be the same. No matter how much support they receive, their life is altered forever. All veterans understand that! The Combat Veteran will never be the same person they were when first raised their right hand and swore to defend this great country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. There is one Combat Veteran in my life that I have the deepest respect for, World War II Veteran, US Army Staff Sergeant Homer Stanley Quintern, my father-in-law. While I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, my wife gave birth to our son…I guess you can say he was “Made in Japan”…My in-laws came over to celebrate his birth with us. Prior to that visit, dad never shared anything with me regarding his combat service. I later found out from my mother-in-law that he never shared it with anyone, not even his twin brother. It was when he and I were talking during that visit that he told me he fought in the Battle of Okinawa. This battle went from April to mid-June of 1945. After that, his unit went to Guam and was preparing for the invasion of Japan. He told me that if President Truman had not dropped the atomic bombs to end the war, he knew he would not have made it home. He believed he would have died in that invasion. During that conversation he asked me if we could visit Ie Shima Island, where his unit initially landed. When we were touring the island on scooters, we stopped and got off at the memorial marker of Ernie Pyle. Pyle was a combat reporter and one of only a few civilians killed during World War II. Dad led me to the spot where he was when he witnessed Pyle’s death. He laid out the entire scenario, moment by moment, like it had just happened the day before and not 42 years earlier. It was etched in his mind. From there we went down to the southern part of the Island to the Suicide Caves. This is where the remaining Japanese soldiers committed suicide by going into the caves and releasing their hand grenades, to avoid their capture. Dad had no idea that happened. His unit was only told that their mission was complete and they would be heading to Guam to prepare for their next assignment. After that day, we never talked about the war again. Dad suffered undiagnosed with post-traumatic stress until he died in 2006. He will always be my hero! While I have great honor and respect for all my fellow veterans, I give the deepest honor and respect for my brothers and sisters in arms who wear the title Combat Veteran. Will all combat veterans please stand. Like my father-in-law, each of you has borne the deepest wounds and scars of war. Thank you for that sacrifice. On behalf of all noncombat veterans, we salute you!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 03:21:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015