Thank you for myself and for my son who is a marine just returning from Iraq last November. The volunteers of our military serve in the spirit of those first volunteers under General Washington who put all on the line to guarantee our liberties with no more than a promise that later those liberties would be written in to this experiment in constitutional government we call the United States. Honor their service by making sure the nation's promises made to its vets for their service are kept. From the veteran benefits promised by the government on down to the businesses who employ returning service men and women. Don't let the thank you stop at the end of the celebration of that service.
Don't forget the old guys either. Yesterday I had the privilege to meet, talk with and shake the hands of eleven WWII vets on their way back from a trip to Iwo Jima. One was a Medal of Honor winner. They hadn't been back since landing on the beach 65 years ago. The trip was sponsored by the Greatest Generations Foundation. Great bunch of guys. Thank you.
My son just came back from his second tour, first in Iraq and then in Afghanistan. He will soon be medically retired from the Army due to a "concussive" injury, from standing too close to a tank gun when it went off.
And that's after his squad got blown up numerous times by those roadside bombs we're hearing about in the news. Thank goodness he was equipped with the reinforced Humvee that can withstand those improvised bombs.
We will owe these modern era war veterans the same thanks as we owe those from earlier wars... whether those wars were popular or unpopular back home. I have known friends who came back as heroes in parades after walking across Europe with Patton, and I have known people who were spit on at the airport as criminals after they flew terrifying missions Asia.
I'm not sure that the public ever really knows who the good guys and the bad guys running the world really are. But I'm absolutely certain that the people who put on the uniform and go to war because they are told their country needs them... are the good guys.
My sincerest thanks go out to those who have fought to uphold our way of life and too often gave theirs in the process.
EZFlap wrote:My son just came back from his second tour, first in Iraq and then in Afghanistan. He will soon be medically retired from the Army due to a "concussive" injury, from standing too close to a tank gun when it went off.
And that's after his squad got blown up numerous times by those roadside bombs we're hearing about in the news. Thank goodness he was equipped with the reinforced Humvee that can withstand those improvised bombs.
We will owe these modern era war veterans the same thanks as we owe those from earlier wars... whether those wars were popular or unpopular back home. I have known friends who came back as heroes in parades after walking across Europe with Patton, and I have known people who were spit on at the airport as criminals after they flew terrifying missions Asia.
I'm not sure that the public ever really knows who the good guys and the bad guys running the world really are. But I'm absolutely certain that the people who put on the uniform and go to war because they are told their country needs them... are the good guys.
My sincerest thanks go out to those who have fought to uphold our way of life and too often gave theirs in the process.
12.22.2013 - Initial article format Operating aircraft on skis and negotiating a snow-covered landscape is an entirely unique skillset and environment.…