Veteran's Day is Thursday, A Not So Gentle Reminder

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a little biased in favor of our military.  I can't point back like Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump to generations of service, but I was born in an Air Force Hospital in Anchorage Alaska, the son of an Army enlisted man ....and Mom had something to do with it too:)  My uncle Ronnie on my dad's side was enlisted Navy and I remember his visits home as a kid, tattoos all over his arms and chest, his crackerjack white uniform.

So it wasn't a big leap for me to wind up at Annapolis after high school, graduate as an ensign in 1985 and to then serve 6 years as a surface warfare officer.  My last deployment was in the Persian Gulf in 1990.  We left Charleston, SC thinking Iran was the threat, with little idea that Saddam was the actual threat to our peace.  Have to say, our time in the Gulf was a little more interesting that we expected, but the USS Taylor (FFG-50) came home safely.  Warning:  After this, there isn't the usual BLiz humor, because after what comes next, there's nothing that brings a smile, just a serious pride in those that serve, past and present.

 
Not all my classmates have been so lucky, and even peacetime service has a high price.  One of my plebe (freshman) year roommates died in the late '80s in a helicopter crash training in South Korea.  Another classmate was killed at the Pentagon on 9/11.  We've lost more along the way, and probably will lose more as these damned wars drag on.

Every warrior, male or female, joins the military knowing full well we may be asked as Abraham Lincoln stated at Gettysburg "to pay the last full measure of devotion", but we walk the front line willingly, believing strongly in what our country has to offer and all our freedoms.  While we may not always agree with the cause and the decisions of our elected leaders, we'll lay everything we have on the line for our comrades and our country.

Years after I left the service, the lessons of why we do what we do, and the consequences of what we do are still deep within me.  And don't get me wrong...my service was easy compared to so many...shipboard life isn't bad...it's not a luxury cruise, but you get three hot meals a day and a clean place to sleep.  No one next to me ever got hurt or killed, any losses were always at a remote, isolated distance.  Every now and then you get a reminder of those that do the really tough work, the guys on the ground doing the up close and personal work.

A couple of years ago I was on a business flight to Milwaukee.  A Marine Gunny Sergeant sat down in the seat next to me.  He was a serious man, on a serious mission.  Trained as a sniper, that night his duty was to bring home a fallen Marine, one of four Wisconsin citizens killed in an IED explosion in Iraq.  Underneath the plane was a casket carrying the soldier home to his family. 

The plane's captain announced before we landed why the Gunny was onboard, the precious cargo that we carried underneath, and a request that after we pulled up to the gate that no one get up out of our seats.  To please allow the Gunny to deplane first and discharge his duties. 

If you're familiar with the typical airplane routine, you know as soon as the seat belt light goes off at the gate, it's a scramble for everyone to get up, grab their bags and try to get out first.  NOT that night....not a person budged until given the all clear from the captain....it was the least we could do.

That memory of that night still brings tears to my eyes as I type this.  No other experience has ever more clearly illustrated the meaning of the day to me.  I can't forget.  I WON'T forget.

Keep Remembering!
Bill
USNA 1985

P.S.  I'll be offline most of the day, but I promise I'll respond as soon as I can.

The Liz Spear Team
Elizabeth & William Spear
RE/MAX Elite, Mason, OH
Direct: 513-265-3004  Toll Free Fax 866-302-8418       
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