Today is Veteran’s Day; and my thoughts are NOT warm, fuzzy and nostalgic.
Anyone who volunteered to be in the military and to put themselves in harm’s way because they love this country and want to defend it; deserves all the honor and respect we can heap upon them today.
THE MILITARY DESERVES OUR SUPPORT AND RESPECT
In the years gone by, we have always honored older men who served their time in the military. We knew and respected the fact that they were the ones who helped to keep America free. These courageous men of many wars then came home to hero’s welcomes. After the celebrations they usually married, settled down, started great careers and enjoyed a long and full life.
These honorable and godly men raised good sons and daughters. They trained their children to be loyal and to respect and defend their country at all times.
In turn; these sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters of America’s best grew and matured. They too wanted to make a difference in the world and many of them selflessly offered their lives in defense of our country too.
THE TIMES; THEY ARE A CHANGING
Wars have changed.
Times have changed.
It was sad, tragic and terrible to have lived through any of the world wars that were a very necessary part of our past history.
Then, we had those soldiers who served in Vietnam. They served under a much different type of leadership. These soldiers were caught up in a very bad situation and a lot of national politics.
When the Vietnam War was over; those soldiers came home to a whole different world than those whom I mentioned above. There were no hero’s welcomes. People tired of an unnecessary political war for other countries than our own were not so sympathetic to their sacrifices.
Yet; most of these soldiers went into the war simply wanting to defend our country from communism, from other shores crossing over into our homeland and stealing our freedom. They wound up in situations that were beyond their control; and they toughed those hard situations out. These were decent and honorable soldiers, some of them who had been drafted in the prime of their lives.
They made it home, and they rejoiced among themselves that they had survived. Many of them could only understand each other because they were there in person. The world as a whole did not understand at all.
Yet; these Veterans had served the best they could under the leadership they were handed down; and they were grateful for a new page to turn, one where they could go on living. By default these picked up the pieces, made lives with what was left and began to settle down and raise families too.
A DEEP LOVE FOR ALL FELLOWMEN
By some miracle; these former soldiers still loved the nation who had not been kind to them.
They forgave.
Most managed to move on.
Those who survived the best did so because it wasn’t their leaders they had signed up for anyway; they went off to war with a plan to defend their loved ones. Hopefully; many of them found those people again and started over.
These brave men and women wanted sons and daughters who could experience a different way of life; so they did not teach them about their regrets; only their good values.
Now those children have grown and matured. They eventually became the men and women who wanted to fill the shoes of the military heroes who would make a difference for our nation.
No matter what war, or what circumstances; each of these Veterans mattered to true Americans. Their stories survived and influenced other good hearts to do more good things, year-after-year-after-year.
TODAY’S GENERATION
Today these sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters have also given their time and lives to our country.
On Veteran’s Day we pause in respect and say “thank you for your service” to them.
The words sound hollow this year though; because many things are different. The sounds and the syllables echo back in my ears as if they are somehow wrong and definitely not enough.
Actually; I’m pretty embarrassed to say those few words; “Thank you for your service” this year.
Please don’t misunderstand.
I AM VERY thankful to each and every one of them; but I’m also embarrassed to say the words that do not seem to be backed up by our leaders. Yes; I’m thinking about how America withdrew from Afghanistan.
FOR THOSE WHO SERVED IN AFGANISTAN
For twenty years the brave young men of our country went over to Afghanistan and the surrounding areas and risked their lives every day; hoping to help the Afgan people escape the terrors of communism and the rule of terrorist.
The fact that they were holding on and surviving, even if no one was thriving, left hope that the wall of terrorist would one day stop within those borders and not continue to creep on into the rest of the world.
Our men over there in the middle of terrible un-humane circumstances, were originally there because they did not desire to see such circumstances come to our own homeland. Over time their reasons grew deeper.
Fathers were fighting for the benefit of their sons and daughters to enjoy a safer future. They also hoped for that to happen for the Afghan children.
Husbands were fighting for the benefit of their wives living safely in the homeland without ever having to fear. Wives were away from their husbands and families doing the same. Men and women together hoped that they were making a difference for the natives of the land they were guarding from terrorism.
Women and men together were standing tall, giving all they could to stop the evil and the terror. Every day they worked hard to protect the families of another nation’s innocent. At the same time they persisted in planting the seeds of hope to preserve our own land’s families. Much of their service was about desiring they would never have to suffer such harms in the homeland.
WITHDRAWING IN HASTE BY COMMAND
I know their jobs must have been terrifying at times.
There was probably not one day as terrifying as the one when they had to leave their assigned posts and come home from a yet unfinished and unsecured task. In haste they were ordered to leave the work that had been accomplished immediately, and turn their backs away from all they had achieved in the name of peace and safety to wreak total chaos on the natives. This put them in an awkward position of jeopardizing all of those who had helped them to accomplish their missions.
A year has now past by and it still seems so very unfair.
Today, on Veteran’s Day so many of our latest Veterans are now sitting at home pondering the amazing facts that have transpired over the last year. Yes; they all longed to be released to come home; but this wasn’t the plan they expected or hoped for; not this way. Joining them in sentiment are those who had to give up their military careers because they had religious values that did not meet America’s leadership’s values. People who had served bravely in courageous positions were now told they could no longer serve if they did not take a worthless shot that stood for everything they did not.
America should be ashamed of the thoughtless and ironic way we have treated those who have voluntarily put their lives on hold to defend us.
WAS THEIR TIME WASTED?
No one could have ever predicted that time would take us to such a dark place as this, where our youngest, bravest and maybe even the most courageous veterans now sit idly inside their homes with dishonorable discharges or lack of missions.
On this day of remembrance, are they all wondering if all of their blood, sweat and tears after months and months of separation from their families, while missing so many special memories and occasions; was all for no reason?
Had they totally wasted that precious time?
THAT WASN’T THE PLAN
Yes; they wanted to pull out of Afghanistan; but they didn’t want to leave the country in the hands of the Taliban when they did.
That wasn’t the plan at all.
The tragic day most Americans now call 9/11 happened only 20 years ago. These events were definitely a motivating factor for those who signed up to serve our country later. They wanted to be the ones who made a difference; the ones who assured that such a tragic event would never be possible again.
They did their best and we punished them for it.
SOME FELT LIKE IT WAS BETRAYAL
Everyone hated what was happening in Afghanistan; and many felt like America had been involved there much too long.
Yet; as much as those feelings existed among the military; many felt they were being forced to betray the Afghans they were helping, and they shared no desire to walk away from an opportunity to help them further into freedom.
They knew without their military backing; the natives would be helpless.
It was an impossible task most of the time; but the way the Americans left the war; kept many people wondering – “was the sacrifice worth the effort?”
Especially when you stop to consider that we left the Taliban our best equipment and gave them charge of land and money that will only help them with the causes we were fighting against and trying to prevent.
Instead we left giving aid to the enemy we had set out to fight against.
NOT WHAT THEY WENT FOR
Most Veterans (both those who were there in the middle of the problems, as well as those who were out of harm’s way and having already served their time) were angry with the way that America pulled out of the Afghanistan War. They were also angry about the dishonor that Christian soldiers were facing for other reasons.
It seems that nothing was done according to proper military procedure. Every military person was left asking “why????” Yet; a soldier doesn’t get to ask questions; they are simply told to obey orders; which they did.
FLASHBACKS TO VIETNAM VETERANS RETURNING
Every time I heard the news, I had flashbacks of the seventies when the Veterans of Vietnam returned home from war. I remembered their sad faces; the lack of celebrations for the tired heroes of a war that wasn’t won; only ended.
Again; there were no celebrations; only more funerals.
Some of these men came home to be given new posts in their military careers; and then as soon as they began to settle into those routines; they were told they needed to follow a mandate to take a vaccine.
Again; they were given no choice.
Most of these courageous men are believers. They know how the vaccines were researched, and they don’t want to be injected with vaccines produced from methods that go against their religious beliefs.
The freedom they were fighting for isn’t there for them now.
Some of these have already had COVID. They are young and strong and have developed natural immunity. Many researchers have shown proof that natural immunity is better than the vaccine; but our government doesn’t want anyone to say this out loud.
None of our Veteran’s are free to speak in their own defense.
So the same men who were asked to put their lives on the line for a cause and then asked to retreat from such causes in an illogical manner without explanation; were now, once again being told to do something against their moral beliefs; or be court marshalled. They faced the possibility of losing their jobs, and all of the benefits they had accumulated over time. Their loved ones were counting on them.
They were American heroes; but they had no freedom!
PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS FAIR
Tell me anything that has been fair to any of these military volunteers over the last 20 years; but more specifically and most noticeably, what has been fair to them over the last year during the Biden administration’s leadership?
Would you want your son to sign up for such abuse by his own country?
Don’t worry; I don’t think any of the young boys today will be doing so.
We haven’t taught them the truth about becoming real men and women patriots; nor have we explained the truth of world history and the consequences of nations that fail to defend themselves, or look out for their own national interests.
Leaders of our country have even shamed soldiers for such things.
They, the future soldiers, won’t know; because we haven’t taught them. There is only one thing they will know for sure. Our educational system has taught them to walk in lock-step with their government. No one told them that true loyalty is a thing to be earned and learned by actions.
One day they will learn these lessons just like those before them. Life has a way of teaching truth. They may wind up sitting still and pondering in shock the whole truths that have come home to haunt their own good intentions.
THE FINAL QUESTION
Do we need to apologize to our Veteran’s today?
I definitely think we do.
We could look away and not feel too bad when in earlier days, the military professionals were only offended by famous sports figures and actors; but now they have been insulted by the very people who rule over them.
These leaders could care less about these soldiers and their desire to make our world a better place.
How did we get here?
What do we need to do to close this door of horror?
How will our younger generation ever heal from such neglect and arrogance?
There are a lot of unanswered questions here; but one answer is clear.
We need to apologize to our current military service men, as well as the Veterans who served and paved the way for them to protect our freedom for all of these years.
Our Veterans deserve better.
“Thank you for your service” sounds so week and insincere.
Maybe we should just bow our heads in humility and say two other words instead; “I’m sorry.”
Until we elect some better leaders who can do different than this; it falls on the shoulders of every American walking around in the freedom that is left to make a change happen.
Until then; dear Veterans; I’m truly sorry.