Have you thanked a Vet today?
No, not the guy (or gal) that takes care of your dog/cat/guinea pig kind of Vet then collects a small fee in return for their services.
I’m talking the guy (or gal) that takes care of our freedom/humanity/peace kind of Vet who knows the job comes with a willingness to pay the ultimate price for their service.
No, not the guy (or gal) that takes care of your dog/cat/guinea pig kind of Vet then collects a small fee in return for their services.
I’m talking the guy (or gal) that takes care of our freedom/humanity/peace kind of Vet who knows the job comes with a willingness to pay the ultimate price for their service.
They soldier on so that liberty can ring loud and clear for those of us back home.
Since the American Revolution, over half a million U.S. soldiers have paid the ultimate price for the peace we know today. I’m sure any one of the twenty million veterans still alive who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan War would appreciate a thank you on this day of remembrance.
There’s one I always call to thank; my father.
There’s one I always call to thank; my father.
Dad looks like a kid as a new recruit; at 17, he was.
He knows the sacrifices that come with serving; I do too. There’s no getting back those years he was gone, the moments he missed as I went from toddler to teen. He missed the birth of my sister Lucia while serving in the Korean War. Six weeks after the birth of my brother Chris, another tour of duty took my father away; and then another and another as the years and my parents’ marriage slipped away.
I used to be bitter. Now I’m better.
Now I’m into appreciating the gift of each new day; sixty years will do that for you. The past is irrefutably etched in stone. My own past is riddled with too many cracks and fissures to be both judge and jury. My father and I share the present, and occasionally regret, as we look to the future.
I used to be bitter. Now I’m better.
Now I’m into appreciating the gift of each new day; sixty years will do that for you. The past is irrefutably etched in stone. My own past is riddled with too many cracks and fissures to be both judge and jury. My father and I share the present, and occasionally regret, as we look to the future.
Dad, on the flip side of 17 and then some.
Now I understand; freedom is never free. I think often of the men and women serving at home while the soldier is away. It pained me to watch my daughter Laura’s marriage crumble under the weight of her family’s sacrifice. I now understand my mother’s struggle.
My mother served alongside my father for most of his 23 years as a U.S. Marine.
Right now, I'm hoping the rain holds off. I'd like to see the parade later this morning, the one held every Memorial Day in countless home towns across America, the same home towns that have given birth, generation after generation, to the brave men and women who have stepped up for the common good. I owe them my gratitude.
President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, NY the official "birthplace" of Memorial Day in 1966.
If a parade is not in your holiday plans, perhaps this YouTube video from Humanity Healing International will help bring home the reason we should never forget those who truly understand the words duty, honor and country.
Personally, I believe a death without dignity, a sacrifice without honor imperils the meaning of the life that precedes that death, and ultimately the fate of a society that does not recognize the courage and sacrifice shown by every one of those who have served.
Personally, I believe a death without dignity, a sacrifice without honor imperils the meaning of the life that precedes that death, and ultimately the fate of a society that does not recognize the courage and sacrifice shown by every one of those who have served.
A national moment of silence is scheduled for 3:00 pm today to remember and honor those who have died.
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