Happy Veterans Day

Wow! Here it is a day when America stops to honor me. A holiday in my honor. Well, I do exaggerate, I guess the day is not only for me but for a few million others who carry the title of Veteran. The picture is of Margaret Everett who symbolizes to me the changing face of the modern veteran. I don't know Margaret well, but when I first met her, I didn't see her as military. She was a pretty, petite wife and mother. Yet, here she is. I am proud to know Margaret. I certainly know many other veterans -- of the modern era, Jake, Ian, Jesse (and others), from my era, Jimmie Hubbard, Art Alari, Wes Guthrie, Rob Mahan, ElRoy Peterson -- my uncle Paul who fought in Korea and my uncles, John and George, who were in WWII.

What is this day all about? When I was a child, the day was called Armistice Day. It was to celebrate the end of WWI which ended on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:00 am in 1918. This was the Great War to end all wars. Yet, it didn't end the Wars. There was WWII, followed by Korea followed by Vietnam, followed by the Gulf War followed by Afghanistan followed by Iraq -- with many little skirmishes in between. Hovering over much of the above was the Cold War. There are a lot of veterans.

I read an article over the weekend that indicated that we demean the meaning of hero -- as well as the status of the Veterans -- to label all veterans as heroes. I agree. Most of us aren't heroes. We are just people who did a job. Certainly there are many who are/were heroes -- but not most of us. None of the guys that I know consider themselves heroes, even though I know some who are. Yet, for most veterans, some sacrifice was involved. The sacrifices were not equal. Some sacrificed their lives. Others lost limbs; their health was ruined; their families couldn't wait for their return; financial problems -- on and on. I certainly consider any sacrifice that I made as minimal, yet there was sacrifice. When Linda and I celebrated our fifth anniversary, I had been gone three of those years; two in Vietnam and one at sea primarily around Vietnam. Even though I got to meet my little baby daughter briefly before she was two, I didn't really get to know her until after her second birthday. Since, I ended up as a Lieutenant Commander, my finances were pretty well taken care of, but in my first year as a commissioned officer in the US Navy, I made less than my final summer working on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company. I seem to be in pretty good health, but the VA recently acknowledged that my hearing loss was a result of military service. I also received my first partial disability check whereby the VA attributed my heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure, at least partly, to my exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

No, all veterans are not heroes. Some are/were. Some are really good people, some not so good. There are veterans who have been President of the United States, others Senators and Congressmen. Some have been a CEO of a large corporation. Most just make an honest living. There are College Professors, school teachers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, carpenters -- on and on. There are also drug addicts, mental patients, completely disabled people, homeless people, prisoners. In short, whoever might read this -- there is a veteran just like you.

I am proud of my service. I am honored to be honored. Thank you America.