Glory past

  Today being Veterans day I normally write something concerning that. To be honest I can't think of much to say that hasn't already been said by someone. I often feel my words are inadequate to the task but remind myself that I am an amateur at this. Nonetheless I still put fingers to the keyboard and give it a shot. Where I to put pen to paper I'm not certain anyone could read it, including myself, my penmanship is sorely lacking I'm afraid. Once again I will try to express my sentiments and thoughts about our veterans.

 My father served in WW2. He was drafted into service and answered that call without hesitation or complaint. The country needed him. Eventually assigned to an air crew flying B-24 Bombers over the hump and into Germany. His service completed he returned to his childhood home and just resumed his life. Not one to join any Veterans organizations for reasons unknown to me, his uniform and his memories packed away in the attic. He didn't enjoy talking about any of it, he did enjoy talking about the planes though. When he came home, along with all the others, there were parades and such. Those GI's were greeted as conquering heroes. Their victories were celebrated. Souvenirs were displayed, the stories of battles told, and a righteous justice celebrated! There was no remorse for the enemy, no sympathy extended. No, the enemy had been met, and just as Oliver Hazard Perry proclaimed after defeating the British on Lake Erie, "We have met the enemy and they are ours!" The greeting those GI's received would be the last of its' kind in America. In all the conflicts and wars that have followed our GI's have not received that gratitude, that welcoming, the loving embrace of the nation they fought for. 

 I can't help but wonder if WW2 was the last "glorious" war of this nation. Have we become so self-righteous, so smug in our Freedom, that we no longer support such a notion, such an ideal as a glorious war. The fight of the righteous, justified in our fury and anger, a time to fight! Does not Ecclesiastes say there is a time to fight? It certainly does and I agree wholeheartedly. The glory of war is enjoyed by the victors having fought for a noble cause. It has been said many different ways by many different personalities. Patton, the great general of WW2 was brash, outspoken, and some say insubordinate. But Patton spoke the truth when he said, " The object is not to die for your country, but to have some other poor bastard die for his." I understand that sentiment exactly. You must have the willingness to put your life out there, to live, to fight, to take the risk in the hope of that gain. The gain that is Freedom! 

 There was a brief time following the attack on the Towers that America once again felt that spirit. It was a justified anger, a reason to fight. No quarter was to be given, but the enemy was elusive. With no where to turn, people forgot. There was even a period of preaching tolerance and forgiveness for this act. We should embrace our enemies in the spirit of peace. And now, 9/11 is just a catchphrase. An incident in history that is observed, more of a holiday than anything else. It has only been twenty years since that happened. A memorial has been erected to honor the lives lost. Lives lost not in battle however, lives taken. Like the attack at Pearl Harbor, an aerial  attack, by surprise, without any warning. The nation was left stunned with no one to attack. 

 Sadly an entire generation now knows little of that, it is just a fact of history. It's not their fault, they weren't alive to live that history. What does the history book say about that? The narrative is it was just a few terrorists, acting on their own, striking out against capitalist America. Yes they were followers of Islam, but they were "extremists" in that regard. They weren't the "peaceful" Muslims that love America as much as Americans. Strangely it wasn't extremist Japanese that attacked Pearl, that isn't what history records. We extracted our revenge upon the Japanese and the Germans. We celebrate that. Today we send our troops to many lands where they fight and die. They are fighting against whom? No one seems to know or care. These veterans just do their duty and return home to what? At best a Thank You on Veterans day or a discount at Home Depot. The deeds they had to perform to survive are often maligned in the news, They are berated by those that refuse to go, refuse to serve. 

 When I returned home I expected nothing, I wanted nothing. I had enjoyed a mutual exchange of service with my nation. This is my country and I am proud to call it so. It's an honor to be called Veteran! Yes, I had to earn that honor and that is as it should be. There is little more despicable behavior than stolen valor. Maybe I am becoming a dinosaur with the views I hold dear. Those basic values and tenets that I will not surrender or compromise on. This land is my land! I took an oath to defend her against all enemies foreign and domestic. I have not been relieved of that duty, only death will do that! I have been honored to serve alongside my fellow Americans, to carry that torch forward. 

 What torch you may ask? Consider the last verse of the poem, In Flanders Field:

" Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The Torch be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die

we shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders Field"

To defend our nation is the highest honor, a sacred trust. My nation trusted me to do the job, I can do no less than trust my nation. Glory belongs to the victor! A victory noble and right is to be celebrated and remembered forever. Heroes? Name a hero from any way or conflict past WW2. There have certainly been many heroic men and woman that have served since, no denying that. Naming them is difficult however and why is that? Was the "greatest generation" to be the last to understand the glory of victory? How few of those Veterans walk among us today. I will keep them alive as long as I live myself.