Just ask

 Went to an event that commemorates 9/11. That was tied with recognizing our veterans. All in all, a patriotic event, flags everywhere and veterans got a five-dollar discount on admission. The Army National Guard was there with a Humvee and a few members in Uniform to represent their unit. At one point the Sargeant from the National Guard took the stage and said a few words. He called for all veterans to stand up when he called out the branch of service, they had served in. I'm certain you have been to places or events that do that. I'm always uncomfortable with that. My wife or the grandkids will urge me to stand up but mostly I refuse to do so. I can't explain why that is, but I just don't like doing that. Self-conscious I guess. I never know what to say when someone says, thank you for your service. I just feel awkward and say you're welcome or something equally dumb. Not quite sure how to respond to that. It just all seems like platitudes to me. I don't doubt the sincerity of the person saying it, it just makes me uncomfortable.

 I was a little confused about the whole veteran's relationship to 9/11. The ones that fought and suffered that day where those in the towers and the first responders that tried in vain to save them. As a veteran myself I don't feel like we ever got retaliation for what was perpetrated upon us. Yes, I was ready to put my uniform back on and go to war with somebody! It was a frustration then and has remained so, I want my pound of flesh from the enemy! It is the way I feel about that, and I will continue to feel that way. Twenty-one years hasn't dulled that rage, the outrage and the desire for revenge. Yeah, I know, I'm not supposed to feel that way. I'm usually told that by those tearing down one hundred- and fifty-year-old statues because they offend them. 

 The biggest frustration is in knowing we will never get that satisfaction. The issue is in identifying the enemy. These terror groups, these bands of thugs and extremists are like shadows. The best we can hope for is capturing a portion of them and the anger comes when I read about them being released! Yes, that has happened more than once in the last twenty-one years. When I hear about the very deep concern for their human rights I cringe. They certainly didn't act humanely; they get no sympathy from me. A swift and sure execution is what I have in mind. 

 When I was growing up I would hear the old people talking about Pearl. Twenty-one years after that took place, I would have been eight years old. A world war had been fought and won! Yes, those that attacked Pearl had paid the price, in full, for their heinous attack on a day that will live in infamy! The Korean war had ended the year I was born but wasn't a victory. I heard about that as well. Mostly I heard about that from the veterans of that conflict and the frustration they felt about not being allowed to "win" the war. Later in high school I would hear the same about Vietnam. We weren't allowed to "win" there either. During my time in the Navy, I was there for Desert Sheild/Desert Storm and the associated shock and awe! We were kicking some serious butt! But once again we had to stop at the border, allow that enemy to escape our wrath. Yes, we wound up going back and still not having "won," the struggle continues. So, for me, 9/11 is my Pearl Harbor, I will never forget that and always seek revenge for that. I'm not forgetting, I'm not forgiving! May not be PC but its' me. I'm still standing by, ready if you need me. No need to thank me for anything, if you need help, just ask.