VETERAN'S DAY

I just can’t resist responding to an e-mail sent to me shortly after the most recent observation of Veteran’s Day.

I’m sitting here, still in uniform, after a normal duty day as a full-time member of the reserve forces. My boss, a F-16 fighter pilot, should be returning from the Gulf in the next week or so, while the young Master Sergeant who works for me isn't due home until sometime in February. I will likely do a tour next year.

I’m an older vet, having spent a little over 30 years of my adult life both on active duty and in the reserves. I've seen times when it wasn't cool to wear this uniform, and sometimes people would spit on or assault us in one way or another. I've seen more recent days when folks would cross the street just to come over to shake my hand and to thank me for my service. Both extremes have left me oddly uncomfortable, yet lately humbled.

So why do I do what I do? I suppose it’s a job, much like other jobs. But there’s an odd satisfaction in being the guardian of a cause. When they say that, “Freedom isn't free,” the words are quite personal to me. I know that were it not for my oath, joined with that of my brothers and sisters who serve with me, we most certainly would not have this benefit of freedom. For the price of our independence is paid in blood, inasmuch as it is also in time, sweat, pain, and the endless moments that alternate between extreme anxiety and unfettered boredom.

But this experience has been so much more than a job, and I am not unaffected. There once was a time when the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem were little more to me than the lead in to the morning’s scholastic announcements. Three decades later, those same words often bring a lump to my throat, as I truly believe that each are nothing less than a sacred vow, reminding us, military and civilian, of the benefits our benefactors fought to secure.

I’ll doff this garb before too long, taking my place amongst the ranks of the retired. I’ll sit with my friends and tell glorious stories of Cold War antics, trade Gulf War anecdotes, and lie with the best of them about, “There I was.” But more than that, I shall continue to give reverence to the founding fathers, and will stand, with pride, in the knowledge that I too lived in honor of my pledge. And all without any requirement for anyone’s appreciation. We do this because it’s right; to appease our own sense of honor; to carry out that sacred trust laid upon us by you. And while your gratitude means more to us than gold – and believe me, it is never unnoticed nor unappreciated – my reasons for serving are a matter of conviction, more personal than I can ever explain.

For those who oppose or disregard us, though they are few, even in their disrespect, they prove the value of our cause. For it is with our lives, we grant them the privilege. That right of opposition is written in the epitaphs carved in granite, or marble, or bronze. For opposition is the prize of freedom, and in its exercise, the true value of our sacrifice shines. We feel no shame, for we stand watch for all, regardless of your viewpoint.

So, if you feel the desire to thank a vet, let me simply state, “You are most welcome.” And there is one gift you can give that proves our lives are not lived in vain. With every election, you choose those who dictate our fates. I only ask that you choose well. For a thank you from the lips, means far less than giving us the leadership to guide us through these perilous times and to ensure the security of our cause. True appreciation is to support us by exercising the power of choice toward those leaders who, in pledge, in deeds, and in heart-felt sincerity, take their position as a hallowed trust. Our lives quite literally depend upon it.

By doing so, you will protect and keep us well. Though we shall offer ourselves without question in trade for the freedoms of this promised land, it is a gift not given lightly. Honor us by your ballots. Give us the leaders who will ensure the purity of our cause, respecting this nation as it was intended, and upon the principles of which its foundation was forged. By doing this, you will defend all of our liberty, so we may continue – one nation – forever onward as the, “The land of the free, and the home of the brave”.