Are Veterans really appreciated???

[PALADIN85020]

I'll tell you, 24 years ago I would have said NO. My wife and I had returned to Phoenix from sequentially living in Albuquerque and El Paso. On Nov. 11, I decided to go downtown to see the annual Veteran's Day parade. Imagine my amazement and chagrin when the only thing parading down Central Avenue was a herd of sheep.

It seems the day was a Native American celebration, the centerpiece of which was a sheep parade. Veterans day parade?

It was non-existent.

I fired off a letter to the editor of the Arizona Republic, and in no uncertain terms let the whole city know how I felt. There were still lots of WWII, Korean War and Vietnam veterans around, and no one was even bothering to recognize them for their sacrifices. Oh, maybe a few restaurants would be offering a free meal, but they were demanding that a vet produce a DD214... Who of us carries one of those in their pockets? Mine's in a safety deposit box.

I wasn't the only one to express disgust.

The next year, they started the parade again, and it has gotten progressively grander each year.

I last attended the parade two years ago. I'm 80, and not up to a whole lot of walking around and baking in the sun, but I took a picture that renewed my faith in the next generations actually paying tribute to the veterans who have kept America free. Here it is:

Not long after that, a kid came running up to me, seeing that I was wearing a veteran's ball cap.

He handed me this hand-written note, gave me a salute, and went running off with a handful more of notes. Here is that note:

With that note, my fears about the future generation vanished. Tears came to my old eyes, and I saw no further need to attend the parades in the future. I was very touched and felt my protests, and those of countless others, were heard. While I will not be attending this year, I will be there in spirit.

Today, I see men and women volunteering to serve, and we have a public that I believe appreciates that they one and all vowed to give their lives, if necessary, to their country.

Tomorrow I will fly the flag to honor vets, past and present. And if I see some damn ball player take a knee for National Anthem, I'll turn off the TV. Our vets deserve way better than the likes of them.

To all the vets on this forum: HAND SALUTE. May God bless you all.

John

 

[sureshotbob]

Thank you John both for this post and for your service.
I'm glad to see the attitude change from the Vietnam era that was such a shame .

 

[federali]

Being respectful to veterans.

Here in my new state of North Carolina, unlike New York, I've had many citizens thanking me for my service. Many big-box stores have reserved parking for veterans. It's an honor system and I think that most non-veterans do avoid parking in those designated spots.

Upon my return from Vietnam in 1968, our commercial jet taxied to a remote section of Sea-Tac Airport where we were loaded onto buses and spirited away to Ft. Lewis so that we would not be confronted by anti-war protesters during our first minutes back on U.S. soil. I did fall to my knees and kiss the ground, not believing I was finally home after a year of hell.

 

[Rudi]

Met my Dad for Chinese on Friday. He's 91 and wears his USS Valley Forge cap. As we were leaving the restaurant a couple on the way in held the door, thanked him for his service and wished him a good Veterans Day!

 

[lrrifleman]

I have similar feelings and observations to what John has shared. Both of my children (both 13 at the moment) go out of their way to thank anyone wearing a military hat, or anyone currently in uniform, partly because they know (as a Vet) that I would be upset if they didn't.

Since I was elected to the local school board, the local school has developed a nice Veteran's Day ceremony for the local Vets. They have had some growing pains and mistakes (like playing the theme from M.A.S.H. [Suicide is painless]) to including either the missing man table or a reserved Gold Star chair front and center.

Over the past couple of years I have noticed that more people are stopping and thanking me for my service when they see my U.S. Army hat. While it is nice, sometimes people just don't think. This past summer I was in PetSmart when a man grabbed my arm (with cane in hand) to spin me around in order to thank me for my service ... not exactly a smart move!

While I was still teaching, I retired in Jun '09, I noticed an increase in the displays of appreciation in the days post 9/11. However, I think that the gratitude currently emanating from the White House is also contributing to the current displays of appreciation!

 

[UncleEd]

By and large in a nation of some 340 million people,
the answer is "no."

Sometimes in a fleeting moment quite a few may
express a mild, shallow emotion for veterans
and then get on with their business.

What genuine emotion does exist is among the
older generations beyond 60 years of age.

 

[TheOldPro]

I served from '74 to '85 in the US Navy. I love this country. But I have to say to many do not realize the price Vets have paid for them. God bless my fellow Vets, I love you guys!

 

[rwsmith]

I guess I made the cut......

By and large in a nation of some 340 million people,
the answer is "no."

Sometimes in a fleeting moment quite a few may
express a mild, shallow emotion for veterans
and then get on with their business.

What genuine emotion does exist is among the
older generations beyond 60 years of age.

I'm 64. I was just young enough to miss Vietnam. I tried to join the Navy, but was declared 4F due to my horrible eyesight. It didn't matter much because the services were cutting back so I found a different way, but that's a different story.

People that run down Vets are low life in my book.
I just heard about a recent verbal attack on a Vet blaming him for the world's problems, reminiscent of the spitting and 'baby killers' thing back in the 60's and early 70's. I refuse to be part of whatever species those people belong to. I'm pretty sure that they aren't humans.

 

[TheOldPro]

I served from '74 to '85 in the US Navy. I love this country. But I have to say too many do not realize the price Vets have paid for them. God bless my fellow Vets, I love you guys!

 

[TheOldPro]

Before someone jumps me for a double post. I'm 64, no computer just this little phone and the buttons are small, !

 

[whitestang]

I am not a veteran but my son is . He was in the Army for 8 years and did two tours in Iraq so I understand the sacrifice that a service member makes as well as their family. I wish more people understood what it means to be a veteran then I believe there would be more recognition of their role in keeping the rest of us free.

 

[Old_Cop]

I took my Dad to the WWII memorial in DC from his assisted living in NC and bought him a WWII Veteran hat. We stayed overnight in VA. When leaving a woman and child got on the elevator, looked at my Dad and said to the child "we should thank that man, he fought to keep us free" the child dutifully said thank you. I was touched and I know my father was.

 

[Texas Star]

If I wear a USAF vet cap, someone occasionally thanks me. I always appreciate it.

My best Veterans Day event was a few years ago when was I was in line to get a table at Applebee's, which offered free meals to vets. A cop at a nearby table noticed me leaning on my cane and asked me to join him.

As we talked, I found that he had been in the 3rd Infantry Div. during the battle for Baghdad, as was my son. I showed him an article that I'd written for a gun magazine, about my son's service in Iraq, where he was wounded a total of three times. (He did far worse damage to the enemy.) They had been in the same outfit, fighting the same battle! My son was fighting within a mile or so of where Sgt. Paul Smith was earning his posthumous Medal of Honor. The combat that day was quite spirited.

Small world...

 

[crazyphil]

I go to the VA Medical Center here at least once a month. As you enter
the property there is a large stone monument inscribed: THE PRICE OF
FREEDOM IS VISIBLE HERE. Oh so true. Of course the price is visible
at many other VA hospitals, and at Arlington, and many other cemeteries
around the country, and overseas. I usually get a few calls from family
members wishing me a happy veterans day, and I wish all of you a
happy veterans day.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Lest we forget, many of the true heroes cannot be with us to celebrate Veterans Day. They lie beneath the earth, in hallowed places such as Arlington Cemetery.

I took this picture at Arlington in 2015, when I accompanied a WWII vet friend on an Honor Flight to DC, where he got to view the World War II Memorial. He died earlier this year at the age of 96. The men in yellow shirts pictured here were WWII vets on that Honor Flight. The blue-shirted individuals were their guardians, such as I, on the flight.

God bless those who now rest eternally. They should never be forgotten.

John

(click for larger view)

 

[BearBio]

Much more now than 1972!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

In 1972, after two tours in Vietnam, I was ordered to Washington, DC on temporary duty assignment. I remember seeing the US Capitol, White House grounds, and other public buildings with entrances barricaded and sandbagged machinegun positions, with troops armed with fixed bayonets, all due to violent demonstrations. Being in uniform, I was repeatedly confronted by screaming zealots trying to provoke an incident.

I remember businesses and restaurants with signs "No dogs, no soldiers".

I remember over 20 years during which it was highly inadvisable to mention that you were a veteran, especially at a nice party or educational facility.

Now people see the Purple Heart license plates while I'm at a gas station or convenience store and make a point of wanting to shake my hand, while displaying a smarmy smile and their voice dripping sincerity as they give me the "Thank you for your service". Chain stores advertise veterans' discounts and restaurants offer free meals on Veterans Day, always with public relations fanfare and advertising of their support for our troops and veterans.

Occasionally I will receive a friendly comment (bartender, restaurant server, neighbor) that I know is sincere. Mostly I find the rest to be self-serving, "look at me and see how much I care" type behavior.

Cynical? Yes. A little bitterness remaining? Certainly.

Oh well, to paraphrase Pres. Ronald Reagan: Most people go through their entire lives wondering whether or not they have ever made any difference in the world; veterans never have that problem.

 

[JJEH]

I think people that are somehow involved with the military, through a spouse, other family member and/or friend do genuinely appreciate them.
All others don't.

 

[UncleEd]

Post #14 by CrazyPhil reminds me
also about the general failure of our
VA system across much of the U.S.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I don't make a big deal out of my veteran status though I get strange looks when I wear my Spanish-American War vet hat.
The one time I encountered hostility from some anti-war hippie types their attitude quickly changed when I turned to face them and they realized that this guy probably has done IT and wouldn't hesitate in doing IT to THEM.
In December 1970 I flew home from Germany on Christmas leave, flew SAS, had a layover in Copenhagen. The Danes were very friendly, their liberation was 25 years earlier but still fresh to them. I found the Germans friendly, being of German ancestry and being able to speak a fair amount of German helped, the Berlin Blockade and the Cold War made them very appreciative of us.