Honoring All
Who Serve. . .
From the Heart of a
Vietnam Veteran
It seems so many have forgotten the meaning of Veterans
Day. But what makes it so special a day that every
American should take a moment to reflect, and thank
those who serve in our armed forces,
both past and present?
From the American Revolution
To the War in Iraq
Veterans Day isn't simply about the men and women
who have served in the Armed Forces of this great
country. It's about their sacrifices, heroism, and unselfish
dedication to the United States of America. It's about
their willingness to lay down their lives for the ideals on which
this country was founded.
It's about
sacrificing their
lives so someone
else may live.
Gettysburg –
Civil War
Afghanistan
It's about giving their
all that others may
have freedom.
It's about fighting in the
mountains, jungles and
deserts in a foreign
land, in the hope that
war will never have to
be fought in their
homeland.
It's about fighting
oppression to
allow others the
right to express
their opinions and
views, without
fear of reprisal
and sanction.
Normandy – World War II
Korea
First Gulf War
It's about vowing to
"leave no one behind"
Vietnam War
Afghanistan War
War in Iraq
And carrying a comrade in arms from the
battlefield on your shoulders in the hopes he will live,
but knowing that at the very least,
he will be buried in his beloved country.
It's about enduring
the horror of war
in the hopes your
children will never
have to do the
same.
It's about lying in the
mud or sand.
Fighting in a hole, and
praying that the shelling will
end. And looking at your
buddies alongside you, and
whispering words of hope and
encouragement.
It's about being dead
tired and still finding the
strength to go on,
sometimes when the
odds are so heavily
against you that it
almost appears
hopeless.
It's about the
doctors and
nurses who
endure hell with
you and work
tirelessly tending
the wounded.
It's about
visiting a
buddy in the
hospital
and reassuring
him that
he'll be OK..
It's about writing a letter home
for someone who will never
return home. It's about writing that
letter for yourself, just in case you are
one of the unlucky ones, and putting it
in your pack where it would be found.
It's about
cursing and
swearing and
praying and
hoping.
It's about crying
and smiling,
sometimes at the
same time.
It's about working and
fighting side by side.
It's about a common goal, where
personal wants and needs are forgotten.
It's about the
sharing of a
candy bar,
or cookies sent
from home.
It's about the looks on the face of a
serviceman when he sees death and
carnage for the first time.
And it's about the
face and smile of
a child
who has been
rescued from the
ravages of war,
even if only for
awhile.
Arlington
It's about the fields of white crosses and
rows of simple bronze markers in
cemeteries throughout the country, marking
the graves of brave men and women.
It's about the graves on foreign shores
where many died in the name of freedom,
but who never were able to come home.
Omaha Beach Cemetery
Normandy, France
Luxembourg American Cemetery
Battle of the Bulge
It's for the veteran shedding a
tear while remembering
friends and comrades from
long ago.
It's for the prisoners
of war who endured
the misery and
torture of captivity in
enemy hands.
It's for those who
venture out in storms
because the book says
they have to, but the
book doesn't say they
have to return.
And it's for the families of those
brave men and women, who fight a
personal battle every day their
loved ones are gone.
No, Veterans Day isn't
simply a specified moment
in time. It's a day where
every one of us needs to
thank those who served
this great country, both the
living and those who have
passed on.
Those of us who served will never
forget them; please take a moment to
remember them too.
The veteran who
wrote this tribute
wishes to remain
anonymous.