Veterans



I had another column all worked up for Veterans Day, then the tragic events began to transpire at Ft. Hood in Texas.

Trying to wrap my mind around all of that, I began to think of the heroes among us, the ones that sit quietly, seldom talking about their experiences, but always ready to help other people.

Sometimes, the kid who served a stint in the Marines and then went into a caring profession goes on to pull an injured baby out of a wrecked car, put a tourniquet on a bleeding leg or just sit and talk with a crying child.

Going to war doesn’t mean leaving compassion behind, though some “old soldiers” aren’t as polite and caring as they could be.

Today’s new veterans are, for the most part, younger, better trained and stronger than the ones who have gone before.

Technology has played a great role, but there are still the “foot soldiers” who walk the walk as well as they “talk the talk.”

Talking with someone the other day, it appeared that there is a gap when people discuss the U.S. Armed Forces and the National Guard.

The guardsmen and women have been to boot camp and, though they are at home today, they may be in combat tomorrow.

Pulling an elderly woman out of a flood-swamped house in Louisiana is as heroic as digging a trench in the Middle East.

So how does an Army major emerge from all the mental and physical conditioning on the nation’s largest base to use all his training to shoot, point blank, an array of young men and women being cleared for deployment to Afghanistan?

Was the thought of hand-to-hand combat so terrifying? Was he part of a religious group that glorifies martyrdom and chose death by comrade above serving his nation?

He isn’t dead, but he may as well be. Paralyzed by bullets from a police officer’s duty weapon, he will be dependent forever on machines.

And the brave troops at Ft. Hood let tears run down their cheeks. There is no “sucking it up” for them.

Men and women alike, they may still be on active duty, but they are veterans because they have experienced the nitty gritty of service to their country.

So have all the old veterans, some of whom are in their 60th year past their service in the nation’s wars and now try to help out at home. Not every veteran sees direct combat or service in another country; some serve at home on the bases as military police, in hospitals, in supply depots making sure all are well equipped and in offices taking care of paperwork.

From the moment their long-dead founders came home after World War I, veterans organizations have helped every man and woman who served and the families who love them.

Some were literally lied to upon enlistment, told that the nation would take care of their needs for the rest of their lives; others were yelled at and spat upon when they returned home; and still others are told they served in “peacetime,” even though they were fired upon in Somalia, Grenada and other places.

Armistice has never been declared in Korea. The “cease fire” could end at any time.

Has the incident at Ft. Hood ended peace at home or has it galvanized us to support our troops and thank our veterans with a hug or a handshake?

I am opting for the latter.