What is a vet?

[muldoon]

WHAT IS A VET

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a
jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence
inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the
leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged
in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and
women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't
tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia
sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers
didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose
overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the
cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th
parallel.

She or he—is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep
sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another—or didn't
come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat—but has
saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang
members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade—riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals
with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose
presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the
memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with
them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket—palsied now and
aggravatingly slow—who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who
wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when
the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being—a person who
offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his
country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to
sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he
is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the
finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country,
just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in
most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been
awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."

Remember November 11th is Veterans Day!

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the
press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of
speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us
the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag."

Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC

[/size]

Something to think about... 



ED: increased font size to older eyes..  - MD

[Daddymem]

Veterans Day, 1954

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

3071

Whereas it has long been our customs to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and

Whereas in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351), that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and

Whereas, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 (68 Stat. 168), changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954, as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.

I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.

Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this eighth day of October in the Year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

[MountainDon]

Thanks guys!

[glenn kangiser]

Lots of them up here in the mountains.  Some will talk - some won't.  I respect that and talk if they want to.  I'm sure all did their best.  Sassy works with them day in - day out  at her job at the VA. 

It would be great if the current government would give them better support for their service and admit there are many more issues such as DU that need to be addressed and stopped so we quit destroying our own service members.

The people in the high offices are quick to remodel their own offices for tens to hundreds of thousands or get their buddies moved back and forth across the country for hundreds of thousands of dollars at the public's expense, but the poor messed up vet doesn't seem to be worth that large an expenditure.  If there is a way you can help or go to bat for one, please do it.  Sassy does it every day she works and lends moral support and advice to them even when off duty.

Thanks guys and gals.  Thanks, Sassy.

[firefox]

And thanks to my DI SSgt Faught for beating enough sense into me
so that I came back in more or less one piece!

Bruce USMC

[peternap]

Those are good thoughts guys!

I hope that this country remembers the sacrifice all Veterans gave. It doesn't matter if they were volunteers or went kicking and screaming, they paid a price. Some gave their lives, some their limbs but all gave a bit of their sanity and all their innocence.

[apaknad]

bless you sassy, and thank you.

dan

[rwanders]

The best education I ever received was my service in the US Army---1966-1969! How to live and serve with an incredible diversity of men & women----from those who could barely read and write all the way to men with masters degrees, black white, brown and yellow----all there to serve our country and protect each of our comrades-in-arms. It was the ultimate expression of what the American Democracy and Republic is about.

[Sassy]

Neat stuff!  Also, thanks...   but I feel priviledged that I get to work with the veterans.  They come from all walks of life, have served in many different arenas, old & young - some of their lives were shattered & they've never been able to put them back together, others have grown & learned through what they experienced, though they often have hidden pain they don't talk about very often. 

It's very sad for me, as I see all these young guys coming back from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Afganistan & other places having lost buddies, having been injured both physically & psychologically, trying to hold it all together but having a rough time.

One young guy I spoke with recently who is now in the reserves, went up for a month to fight the fires in Mariposa, when he got back, found that he no longer had a job... was told by his boss "I need someone I can rely on"...  I talk to veterans everyday who are running into that problem - school disrupted, jobs lost, families broken up due to being called up over & over... 

So much money is spent up front - to the contractors & the big guys like Halliburton & not much is left on the back side to take care of our veterans who have put their lives on the line.  That is what I consider a travisty...  it's bad enough that so many wars are fought because the "old guys in charge" want a war for whatever reason (more often than not for power & money) & the young guys join to serve their country or are drafted & forced to do so even if they may not believe it is a just war...  and when they come back broken, there's not enough left to take care of them...

Everyone needs to protest the frivolous & unjust wars & contact their "representatives" to increase the support for our veterans after they come back... 

[sparks]

Not sure if my Father was what qualifies as a Vet. He was in the Army from 1928 to 1932. And then spent the next 8 years in the USMC. He left Pearl in early 1940. As a Master Sargent.....well, that's what it says on his grave marker.
I didn't know that untill he was gone.

I've got two of his picture albums.......fascinating.



Sparks

[MountainDon]

He's a vet.on't need to be under enemy fire to be a vet. He was there is needed.

[desdawg]

I am a vet. No Hero, just a vet. I have all of my original parts and pieces intact. I didn't get assigned in harms way except maybe as a guard in a Navy Brig stateside. Today I go to my first appointment at a VA clinic so I will now have some kind of medical care program. I made it to the age of 60 without needing a lot of that stuff. So I guess I am becoming a Socialist. I paid my premium in Viet Nam and a few other places. It cost me 3 years and 5 months of my life. I got an early out for being a Viet Nam returnee. My original enlistment was for four years. USMC.
I made a purchase at Lowes yesterday and got a 10% discount for being a vet. That was nice and the first time I had ever seen anything like that happen. It was only a light fixture. Imagine if it had been a framing package.

[glenn kangiser]

Take advantage of all you can get or at least all you need, des.  You deserve it.

[desdawg]

I was pretty impressed with the thoroughness at the clinic. I don't speak medical fluently and have avoided it as much as I could in the past. It was good. My hats off to you Sassy.

[glenn kangiser]

I know from Sassy's stories of the hospital that a good nurse many times will see signs that the doctor misses and she of course humbly point him or her in the right direction. 

Especially the  old nurses like Sassy. :_)

[MountainDon]

Especially the old nurses like Sassy. :_)

experienced might have been a better choice of adjective....   

[apaknad]

better sleep w/one eye open for awhile glen. 

[glenn kangiser]

ummm uhhh yeah.   I expect to get in trouble for that when she gets here tonight and gets to the computer....