One who opposes war as a solution but values might when required to affect a solution.
One who values their life in relation to a cause important to their nation.
One who stands proudly to salute their flag as an icon of their nation and values they hold dear.
One whose humility stands out more than any other.
These are the attributes of the Veteran.
I say to one of them, “Thank you and your family for your service and sacrifice, we owe you a debt to hear this from at least one of us every day.” And they reply, “No thanks necessary, it was my honor to serve.” It is their reply that reveals the spirit of the Veteran, an unofficial title of Honor and respect due to those who served for the true hero they are.
There are those in our society undermining and demeaning what a Veteran is, using the term to distinguish time in a job, or as some title in a computer game for “experience earned.”
There are those in government whose political views oppose war and they therefore oppose all Veterans for the sake of politics, the Veteran a pawn in their game of thrones.
There are those in society who opposed a particular war at one time and continue to oppose its Veterans, and interpose the noble reason of a government imposed draft to justify supporting their nation's enemies and creating chaos within their own country as protected acts done under the guise of a statement of Freedom of Speech and Expression, people who, in the least of their actions, spit on our returning Veterans, in uniform, even while injured in a wheelchair.
Some who hate Veterans may, in the course of their business or job, be it banking, insurance, a restaurant, etc., will do heinous deeds on behalf of their hatred: deny a loan, deny a policy or needed care, add their bodily fluids to food (in a restaurant or similar business due to the patron Veteran wearing their uniform or another in the premises overheard mentioning another patron is a “Veteran”).
Yet with all of this, as well as a true oxymoron “Veteran's Administration” to which the attribute “dysfunction” is, and has been, a most graceful understatement of the situation for more than 50 years, the Veteran, who has faced death as a tool to be used or at the loss of a fellow Soldier more often than those who hate them, continues humbly to move through their life. Be it in a cardboard box, providing for their family now and in the future, or to assure a warm and healthy meal every day, the Veteran continues to “take that hill” and overtake all opposition as a matter of course, conviction, self-worth, and, most importantly, Honor.
Therein is the source of the Veteran's heroism and humility, their Honor, an Honor to serve.
Please, if you see or run into a Veteran, especially on Veteran's Day, say a simple thank you for their service and sacrifice, show them you Honor their Honor, that you appreciate the slice of their life they put forward on America's behalf, standing for your nation, irrespective of the outcome or the government's reason for war. These people served by choice but it is a contractual obligation that they cannot walk away from, or, they were drafted, the government assuming their life a “resource,” repugnant to the Veteran's very reason for fighting, “...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,...” Veteran's deserve our heartfelt appreciation just because they are Veterans, the remaining American blood and Treasure of a group of Americans who continue to serve America with their Honor.
God Bless you and thank you for reading and sharing this,
Toddy Littman
