They come in all sizes, colors, ages, and at one time were young boys or girls...for that matter many still are. I know war veterans ninety plus, some between fifty and sixty, and as young as 35. All of them are victims of too many wars fought for our country or others that needed help. You could say they were "lucky" by the measurement of coming home even if terribly wounded, mind or body. During those terrible times more than a million Americans were robbed of precious life and those close to him or her suffered immeasurably depending upon the closeness of the relationship. Most veterans are not at all enchanted by sales of goods in their honor and will spend the day like any other...but surely they will remember the moment they lost a buddy, or saw one disappear into the back of a military ambulance. A veteran of any war will not be upset if no one salutes that day but you can bet they will smile if you do.
2 comments:
Beautiful thoughts.
Over a dozen years ago my family and I visited Russia as part of a tour with other Americans.
We were amazed to see the respect with which veterans were treated by the general public. There obviously were WW2 museums, but even outside in the general public, veterans in civilian clothes frequently wore war medals, and they were routinely given the best seats on busses and in lines at various public, sports and social events. Even women and small children would defer to and show great public respect for anyone who wore a war medal, and we as tourists were honored to see this and often take pictures of this.
There is something catagious about being in the presence of a veteran and feeling the patriotism his (or her) service makes it so easy for us to be proud of, even if some of our veterans may even be called "85 year old, sick men" ( to quote an idiot who apparently sent such a description to someone who is a leader of this blog and who made it possible for the idiot to have a great Veteran's Day every year.)
Those for whom I have a great deal of respect salute Mr. Pock and all his fellow patriots, and we will appreciate them even more tonight when many of us are here at home in Suffolk safe with our families.
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