Veteran's Day

Sunday is Veteran's Day, a day of rememberance to honor those who served and those who died to protect our rights and freedom. When I was a kid, this used to be a very special day filled with parades and ceremonies. Now it's a day off of work for the bankers and postal workers and a day of sales at the mall.

As the daughter of a US Marine who served in the South Pacific as part of Lost Company A of the 10th Amphious Tractor Battalion
( see http://justblowingsmoke.blogspot.com/2007/10/lost-battalion.html) , I was raised with pride and respect for those who serve. Now my daughter, my youngest child, serves as a medic in the US Army. She left for basic training right after high school graduation, just days before her 18th birthday. She has served at Ft. Jackson, SC; Heidelberg, Germany; twice at Ft. Sam Houston, TX; and now at Ft. Bliss, TX. She is expecting her first child this June. She has seen things in her young life, caring for those coming back from "the sandbox", that most of us can't even imagine. Although she hasn't had to go "downrange" yet, (and as a mother, I am counting my blessings), many of her friends and classmates from high school, basic training and AIT school have. Some are on their second or third tour there. Many are like my own children.

Regardless of how you feel about the right or wrong of the war, the reason we are there, or when or how we should pull out, let there be no mistake! Those who serve, or have served in this war, or those past, deserve our thanks and our respect and deserve it without reservation. On this Veterans Day, take the time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Remember those who served and then came home and got on with their lives. Remember those who are still paying the price for our freedom everyday-overseas; at home; healing from injuries visible and not; and for their families who worry every moment of everyday whether the chaplain will come walking up their sidewalk and knock on the door. The next time you walk through the airport and see a soldier in uniform, take the time to go up and thank him or her for their service. It only takes a moment, but that moment can be a lifelong memory to that soldier. If you are flying, and a soldier happens to be on your flight, ask the flight attendant to allow the soldier to deplane before everyone else as a sign of respect. Applaud the soldier as he or she does. Some of them are going to go "downrange" and some will not come back. Some of their families will be left with bills they can't pay, fatherless children, shattered lives, but proud of their loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The least we can do, as we sit in our comfortable recliners, luxury cars (or in my case, really good seats at the Kansas City Garth Brooks concert on Nov. 14th) is say thank you. Tim McGraw did that really well at an awards show awhile back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7ixC-LYDGc

For those in the Armed Forces home and abroad, past and present, from the bottom of my heart-Thank You!