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Last edited by Devildog; 11-12-2011, 11:06 PM."We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school."
-Thucydides
"Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men."-Miyamoto Musashi
Si vis pacem, para bellum
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here is something my brother wrote that expresses my feelings much better than I ever could
Just a thought for my veteran friends and collegues on Veterans' Day
It's Veterans' day and I'm reading the Sunday morning newspaper (it doesn't really matter which one), and the paper is stuffed with 'Veteran's Day' sales adds. Did you know that to honor America's Veterans, you can buy a brand new flat screen TV for just $699.99? How about a new a new sweater, two for $20.00? We've got your new range top, microwave, and the latest low end computer. It just warms my patriotic soul. I can't think of a better way of honoring the men and women who have risked their lives for my freedom than running right down the 'miracle mile' to buy a brand new car!
The odd thing is, as I look at all these advertisements, I swear they are the same deals I could have got on Columbus Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, or Martin Luther King Day. It seems the best way Americans celebrate is by shopping.
Veterans' Day is known in some parts of the world as "Remembrance Day." It is a day set apart to honor those men and women who have served in our country's armed forces, and particularly, those who gave their lives to defend the freedom and ideals our country represent. Today I give honor to my father who left a wife and five small children to travel to Viet Nam. He was there for a year, and lost more than one friend in an effort to preserve the freedom of the people of South Vietnam.
Now, we can argue the merits of the mission - but the fact is, my Dad was called, and he went. He did his job the best way he knew how, and has suffered the physical consequences for the last 45 years. In addition to Vietnam, he served our country in Europe and in South Korea. He was, and is, a patriot. He was raised during World War II, and enlisted as a medic in the Utah National Guard shortly before the end of the Korean War. He joined his father, his uncle, and 5 of 6 brothers in serving our country. As a legacy, three of his four sons, and both of his sons-in-law have served their country as soldiers, sailors, National Guardsmen, and US Army Reservists. It is a legacy I am proud to be part of.
I have walked the lines of whitened marble monuments, crosses, and Stars of David at Gettysburg, Antietam, Arlington, Normandy, the Meuse-Argonne forest, Cambridge, England, and Luxembourg. It is the final resting place of young men and women who answered the call and gave 'their last full measure of devotion' so that this nation will 'long endure.' I have read hundreds of times the sacred, hallowed words, "Here lies an American Soldier, known but to God."
So I don't think I will buy anything this Veterans' Day. In fact I think I will deliberately NOT buy anything this Veterans' day. Instead I will bow my head and quietly thank those men and women, living or dead, who have put on a uniform, and sworn, at the possible price of their own life, to defend the constitution of the United States of America. In particularly, I thank those who will spend this Veterans' Day far away from their homes, their families, all they hold dear. I have been there.
Thank you.
Thanks to all who have served or are servingLast edited by happyone; 11-19-2012, 07:41 PM.
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."Comment
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Great post. Your brother is a good writer.Comment
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