Some Thoughts on Veterans' Day

Today is Veterans’ Day; a day set aside to honor those who have served in our country’s armed forces during both peacetime and wartime.  Veterans’ Day doesn’t ask where you served, what your rank was, or what branch of the military you were in, it merely says “Thank you for your service” by way of a national holiday.

There are those who say that those men and women who fight a war are not heroes because war is evil and should never be fought, no matter what’s at stake.  Funny, they don’t realize the only reason they have the right and the freedom to make statements like that is because of our military and the wars we have fought to protect those freedoms.  America has always gone to war believing in the cause, whether everyone in America believed in that cause or not.  Even the controversial war in Iraq was believed, at the time by most of our politicians in Washington, to be just and moral and a good cause.  Time and some discoveries changed the attitude of many people, including politicians, concerning that war but most in Washington who now vocally oppose it can be found on video and in the Congressional and Senate records saying yes and voting for it.

Of course, those same politicians now say they were lied to by President Bush and that’s why they went along with the plan to invade Iraq.  It’s funny though that many people on the left, even Washington politicians, say Bush is an idiot and was an inept President yet they were duped into agreeing to the war before they were against it.  So does that mean they, in all their glory as Congress members and Senators, were duped by an idiot?  Hmmm….

My point is not to justify nor vilify the wars we are in nor the previous ones fought.  My point is that anyone who volunteers their very life in service to our country deserves the title of hero.  Whether you believe war is necessary or believe it to be the evil of all evils, those who volunteer to fight it in the name of the United States of America, even knowing they could die doing it, are heroes in my book.  Anyone who volunteers to serve this great nation at any time by way of military service is doing something selfless for the people and the nation regardless of the reason that person first joined.  And there is no better way to show your love and loyalty to our country than to join its military to protect her from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Happy Veterans Day to all who have worn the uniform in service to the United States of America.  This is your day, dedicated in your honor.  A special thank you to those who never returned from their military service and made the ultimate sacrifice and thank you to their families who also sacrificed without ever wearing that uniform. 

There is an old saying that “A veteran is someone who, at some point in his/her life, writes a check payable to “The people of the United States of America” for the amount of “Up to and including my life.”  No truer words were ever spoken.  Not all service members realize the depth of their commitment to their country when they take that oath but they promise to defend America at all costs.  And they deserve our thanks.  Without our veterans, past, present and future, America would not be the great nation she is today.  Without them, no one could read my words and agree or disagree with them because I wouldn’t have the freedom to write and post them as I do.  I, for one, am very grateful.