Being called a baby killer in NYC grand central station in 1968 in uniform with my men traveling back from NB RI has stuck in my craw for too long.......
It will forever stick in my craw, too.
A couple of "who I thought were" my best high school friends became anti-war types within a couple of years after HS and wouldn't even acknowledge my presence once they found out I was in the AF.
Like some of you, I encountered the "peace protestors" at the SF international airport when I deplaned from SEA in 1971, wearing my pickle suit. Didn't get spit ON but did get spit AT. [Why SF International, you ask? Because ongoing race riots had closed Travis AFB when I rotated home.]
My sister's husband was a draft dodger. My sister gave her loyalty to him, and we became distant - that remains to this day, 50-some odd years later. I won't budge.
My grandfather saw combat in the Army infantry in France during WW I. My dad was on a destroyer in the Pacific from 1942 through war's end. I was in the PI (1970-71) and Thailand (1972-73).
My eldest son, an active-duty Blackhawk pilot (and former 160th SOAR enlisted Chinook maintainer) has, so far, deployed 4 times to Iraq, 2 to Afghanistan and one to Kuwait. We're hopeful the current Europe/Middle East situations don't cause him to deploy again, but he freely acknowledges that's what he's signed up to do. He'll soon pin CW4 and is committed for the long haul (30+).
Veterans Day is very special for me and my wife (whose father, an Army combat engineer, saw combat during the Battle of the Bulge), and close relatives in both of our families whose parents and uncles saw combat during WW II and/or Korea.
Every one of us (including all ancestors) volunteered. Not a draftee among us.
Those events are fading into the ever-increasing past. Very few today comprehend what military service meant/means, and fewer yet appreciate the consequences of that service.
I find it a trite, knee-jerk response when people today say, "Thank you for your service." It is much more accurate to say, "Thank you for serving." Indeed, our respective military commitments consumed a full 10 percent of our adult working lives. And I think all of us, if we travelled back in time and were presented the choice, would do it again.
So...to all of the veterans on this website, I say, "Thank you for serving." You made the most meaningful contribution to our country - you gave your time.
