… today is Veteran’s Day… originally known as Armistice Day it commemorates the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when hostilities were brought to a close for World War I , often referred to as The Great War… … Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives in the service of their country… Veterans’ Day honors all who answered the call and served… including and especially those who made it back. … as I was walking down a long hallway at the VA hospital this caught my eye … it wasn’t part of a big fancy display, just a framed 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper, hanging at eye level all by itself… but after I stopped and read it, I felt compelled to copy it down on the back of the envelope that held my X-ray report, which took some time but I think it was worth it and I hope you think it was worthwhile too… What Is a Veteran? Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them, a pin holding a bone tighter, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel made from the souls’ alloy forged in the refinery of adversity. A vet is a cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personal carriers didn’t run out of fuel. A vet is the bar-room loudmouth, dumber than a bag of hammers and a box of rocks, whose overgrown-frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel… that only those he saved ever knew about. A vet is the Nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang. A vet is the POW who went away one person and came back another- or didn’t come back at all. A vet is the Wal-Mart greeter who smiles as he says Good Morning!, even though you remind him of the wife he left behind on the pier who died with his unborn child before his ship could make it back to its’ homeport, and he back to her side. A vet is the drill instructor who has never seen combat, but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account punks and gang members into Marines, Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers and Coastguardsmen, and teaching them to watch each others back. A vet is the electronics tech who made sure the radio worked so that the desperate call for a MedEvac was heard in time. A vet is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. A vet is the career Quartermaster who made sure everyone had enough ammo, food, and weaponry, but watches all the ribbons and medals pass him by. A vet is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or at the bottom of the ocean. A vet is the old guy bagging the groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come. A veteran , whether active duty , retired , National Guard or Reserve - is someone who , at one point in their life , willingly signed a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount up to and including their very life. So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over, shake their hand and say, “Thank You“. That’s all they usually need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they might have been awarded. From a submission to the Pulaski County Journal November 7, 2012 by the County Veterans Service Officer Ed Fluery We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he neer so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accursd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispins day. Shakespeares HENRY V C. 1599
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 17:27:43 +0000
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