slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Ran across the following on another forum...thought it worth posting on this one.


What is a Veteran?

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.

They are 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.

They are the barroom loud-mouth, 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.

They are the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

They are the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

They are 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.

They are the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

They are the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

They are 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.

They are the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a N**i death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

They are 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.

They are 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".

"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 f**g, who serves beneath the f**g, and whose coffin is draped by the f**g, who allows the protestor to burn the f**g."

-- Father Denis Edward O'Brien/USMC

microphor Loc: Home is TN

thank you for post

Ri-chard Loc: 23322

Good Post and thank you.
I work with my fellow vets (VA Norfolk Hospital) and co-members at AFCEA.org because I and others choose to educate our veterans with many hidden t***hs because it is our veterans of America have sacrificed life, limb and family. This has caused children of past and present generations to suffer without fathers in their lives day to day, thereby distorting social structures and slowly t***sforming the foundation that blessed us. I say, help us, help you help the veterans and their families to receive what was promised and what should be, to correct the abuse that has been laid upon them by the persons claiming to care aka POLITICIANS/Impersonators.

Tiptop789 Loc: State of Denial

Another great one from you, thanks.

WinkyTink Loc: Hill Country, TX

And as such, we must never use or abuse the US military with tasks not directly related to the protection and benefit of America, its citizens or its formal allies........again.

LogicallyRight Loc: Chicago

Thanks for a great post. I'm a veteran and not as great as all to many who served. Maybe it was just opportunity to do that. But we all served and could have been called upon to give our lives at any time. We all owe thanks to those that are serving and have served. They gave us a free America. It is up to all of us to keep it free, even as civilians. I'm trying to do it here and several other outlets, even at my old age. We must constantly fight those that would take us down. On here, many of us think of the C*******ts and Marxists as the worst and Progressives, Socialist and l*****ts and democrats as right behind them. Some of them aren't all bad. But some are just steps away from C*******m and Marxism. So we fight on. Doing what we can while trying to also live a good life.

Logically Right

Rose42

Excellent! ‘Nuff said.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

darn good post slatts. like nearly all of your posts.. thank you... gives a man a moment to thank and be greateful to so many..

rjoeholl

Copy that.

moldyoldy

A poem from my late brother, an Army vet.

The Plight Of America's Finest
Rating: ★5.0
♡



The Soldier, a forgiving soul.
The substance of an ancient mold.
Though over worked and under paid,
their loyalty remains unscathed.
The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines,
a few proud men and women, being all that they can be.
Whether on our home-front or abroad
they serve to heed our nation's call.

The military cares for its own,
or so we've been taught to believe.
When they find that they no longer need you
then, you'll find that you've been deceived.
You've performed as you were ordered,
some put their lives on the line.
Our Congress enjoys an increase in pay.
but for yours, there's no funds, there's no time.

Her saving are gone. His home is lost.
You're dying from some unknown cause.
The Military Doctors, they can't find a thing.
Their diagnosis, "You're malingering".
You need not look too far to see
a Veteran living in poverty.
You've done what you were asked to do.
What will our leaders do for you?

Some soldiers return home to face
an added problem, one of race.
Some families live in constant fear.
their neighbors, they don't want them here.
One buys a home and settles down,
bigots want to burn his house to the ground.
Our countrymen, they fight side by side
to make other nations free,
only to return to the prejudices of our own society.

Its time we showed appreciation
to those defending our great nation.
Heads of state should make provisions
to give our soldiers due recognition.
The freedom that we all enjoy.
we owe to those that we've deployed.
On land, in the skies, on the Ocean too.
Our Soldiers protect THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE.
Woodrow W. Edwards, Jr. Thursday, January 2, 2003

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Thanks, Moldy, for an appropriate addendum.

Rose42

Thanks for sharing moldy. That is excellent.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Very good Moldy,, thank you... keeping this one..

microphor Loc: Home is TN

Beautiful, thank you for sharing it

Ri-chard Loc: 23322

Good post, I forwarded it to my local VFW Post.