Veterans Day, 2019


Reading time – 1:31  .  .  .

It’s Veterans Day, the day we set aside to honor all who serve.

Right now there are 1.29 million men and women wearing the uniform and nobody makes them do it. Every one of them volunteered. They had choices. They chose to protect you and me. And they keep doing it so that you and I can live the lives we choose. They swore an oath to protect and defend and that is exactly what they do every day.

This post is about two things. The first is to honor every one of the 1.29 million. A public THANK YOU. A stake in the ground so that there is no doubt that we salute them, that we hold them in a special place in our hearts and about the depth of our gratitude.

The second is about how we honor them.

It’s long past time to stop sending our military people into unnecessary wars, to stop risking their lives for anything other than our actual national defense and American interests.

Recall that we had Osama bin Laden cornered at Tora Bora in 2001, but President Bush refused the request of on-the-ground CIA officers for additional special forces. That allowed bin Laden to escape. Then Bush invaded all of Afghanistan and Iraq, causing the death and injury of thousands of our military personnel. And our people are still there.

It’s time to value their lives instead of wasting them.

And it’s time to stop using them as pawns of betrayal, as we’re causing our troops to do to the Kurds in Syria right now.

Do you want to thank a vet? Saying, “Thank you for your service,” falls short in value if our words and our actions aren’t congruent. It’s time we insist on better – for them.

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Ed. Note: I don’t want money or your signature on a petition. I want you to spread the word so that we make a critical difference. So,

YOUR ACTION STEPS:

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

NOTES:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling or punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  3. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.


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3 Responses to Veterans Day, 2019

  1. Daniel F. Giallombardo November 11, 2019 Reply

    And the most galling of all factors is that the current occupant of the White House, not only paid a doctor with questionable cred’s to exempt him from the draft but who feels free to criticize men like John McCain—I didn’t always agree with him but sure as hell, I respected him and the current target Lt. Colonel Vidman a man who put his nation before a great many other things. He had to realize what this could do to his career in the military.—Dan

  2. Jim Altschuler November 11, 2019 Reply

    I couldn’t agree more, especially for Viet Nam veterans who were treated terribly when they came home. Those who don’t remember how they were treated should make it their mission, specifically today, to find out how they were treated. If possible get the answer from a Viet Nam veteran. Check into benign neglect and “baby killer” and objects of derision.

    The World War I and World War II veterans had it far better, and they well deserved the praise and accolades they got. They had saved the world from fascist mad men.

    The Korean War veterans got some of the same praise but not nearly as much. They deserved more and better than what they got.

    The Middle East wars have been dragging on for so long that we’re almost numb to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines going off to war and practically blind to them when they return.

    Wake up, America! These are our heroes. They are the ones who developed the industry of the Industrial Revolution and made it boom. They are the ones who led our nation and its industries out of the terror of the Cold War. They are the ones who built what we have today and who will build what we have tomorrow. Praise them all. THANK them all. And remember all of those thousands and thousands who gave their lives so we could have what we have and the Freedom we enjoy. May God bless them all; every one of them.

    • Daniel F. Giallombardo November 11, 2019 Reply

      I didn’t go to Vietnam to come home and be regarded as a hero. I went because I thought it the right and honorable thing for me to do. I’ve yet to meet a vet from ANY era who is comfortable with being called a hero. With few exceptions, we want to get on with our lives and NOT be feted at every by opportunistic politicians and others for their personal aggrandizement or ends. Some people really DO appreciate what vets do and have done and for them I am grateful.