How Was Your Veterans Day? Was it just a day that you found the Bank was closed, or some Government Office Building? Was it much of an inconvenience? Did you grumble? Did you wonder why all the fuss?
Let me tell you a little of my Veteran's day:
First thing this morning, I called a friend (Retired Army), and thanked him for his service to his Country. Almost immediately thereafter, my phone rang--it was a former co-worker calling to tell me "Thank you for your service to your Country." She too, is a veteran: I thanked her for her service, and for thinking of me.
I came upon a young man with a prosthetic leg, and knowing he served in Iraq, I stopped to thank him for his sacrifice. That reminded me of my younger brother (retired Marine), my dad, my granddad, my cousin, four uncles, and two friends (all deceased). I also thought of my living brother, my three living uncles, four living cousins, and dozens of friends who have served. Yes Veteran's Day has meaning to me; and that is just my heritage since WWI.
A while back, I was in a White Castle for burgers--there I met a paraplegic who had recently returned from Iraq: he was sitting in a wheel chair, and was accompanied by his wife and three daughters. "Dear LORD, forgive me when I whine--I have two legs. The world is mine." God Bless the USA, and our heroes.
My only sacrifice was giving up my freedom for four years: being deployed to South Korea & Japan--that is all I did. But many young men paid the ultimate sacrifice while a President failed to trust his Generals and allow them to conduct the war. Vietnam stands as a reminder of what happens when politicians run wars.
I will always honor President George H. W. Bush for recognizing that fact, and letting his Generals conduct the Desert Storm Operations. A grateful Nation honors him with a Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier: USS George H. W. Bush, CVN77. It's motto befits the man: "Strength in the Pursuit of Peace."
We owe a lot to his generation, to him personally, and to all those who serve with such honor. As for me, my greatest honor is I get to live in the Land that I love:the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave!
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