Thank You for Your Service! – Breaking News: Veterans ARE NOT Heroes

Veterans’ Day is viewed in a variety of ways. Unlike Memorial Day, it is a day to celebrate those who have survived their military service. As a veteran, I like the idea of having a Veterans Day. It ought to be a National Holiday of the same stature as Presidents Day or the Fourth of July. There is much pride to be taken away from the concept of service to one’s country.

For me, Veterans Day is a day of reflection. I am proud to have served. I believe there is a value in service. I believe that we should all have a service obligation as part of our education and maturation process. That does not mean that we should all serve in the military.

There are many ways that we can and should serve. We need to look after the hungry, the cold, the sick, the homeless. We need to share our educational experiences both domestically and internationally. There are "haves" and "have-nots" in this world and without equality, we are all missing something. We have the Peace Corps, Amercorps, U.S. AID, UNISEF, Doctors without Borders, etc. There are many – both government sponsored, religious, and private organizations where one might serve. Like the requirement that children must remain in school until a certain age, there should also be a requirement that all youth should do public service. We might also make public service a part of our immigration policy – if you want in to American society – as a youth, as an adult or as an immigrant – you should be willing to contribute by serving.

This is, you might say, a rather idealistic way of thinking. Goals and ideals are tools for creating structure upon which we can seek improvement. Therefore, we need to continue to entertain such thinking and not simply dismiss it because we do not have solutions that might lead to implementation. Who ever said that this life was supposed to be easy. Service is actually a means of realizing that it takes effort to succeed in this life.

Back to the military veterans that we celebrate today – during my time in the military, I encountered all kinds. There were those who were drafted into service and there were those who volunteered. There were those from families with long histories and traditions of military service and there were those who got dragged into it by the political and diplomatic shortcomings of those who govern. There were those who were given the enlistment option by their local parole boards and family courts. There were those who could find no other work. There were all kinds. We were all tossed together into a pot and stirred. Some who did the stirring were better at it than others – they also ran the gamut of human imperfection.

We hated military service and we loved it. Sometimes those who loved it claimed that they hated it and vice versa. We all needed to get along. We couldn’t wait to be discharged and we couldn’t wait to advance. Every attitude and situation could fit into some kind of array that contained both good and bad; strength and weakness; success and failure. The variation and possibility was much greater than anything that we might have known before.

It is funny now to see that some of the biggest flag-waving patriots of today were the most troubled and difficult during their time in service. Others, who were obnoxiously gung-ho – not so much. Some avoided complete commitment in Reserve Units and others suffered the horrors of the battlefield. Some veterans will never feel that they have received what they feel is due to them for their service while others are embarrassed anytime that someone today thanks them. Most were not heroes. We were and are normal, everyday folk who served.