Veterans Day

[Xenograg]

They are not just old men, anymore.

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20081110

[Xavior Mues]

Interesting. . .

Due to health problems I was unable to see combat, despite my best efforts.

My father was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam. When I was 15 I had a friend of mine over for the night and Dad, with cold blue eyes, told us of how he held his high school friend's head out of a rice patty and watched him bleed to death.

I ask; have you ever seen combat? Or are you simply attempting to take glory/make puns on the sacrifices of others?

[G]

Think about what that comic strip says.

To me, it's a way of saying that we used to view veterans to be older people with gray hair.

Now, it's the older peoples children and grandchildren. Our friends and family who are our age or younger who are now veterans.

It's a deep and sobering thought.

No. Veterans aren't just old men anymore.

[DreyStarke]

Talk about a chilling cartoon. Especially 'cuz I'm going to the navy soon.

[Xenograg]

I am an Army Brat. My father was in Vietnam when I was born. He never talked about it, even with my mother. He died before I could ask him anything.

I was medically ineligible for military service. One brother is ex-Army, the other is active duty Navy.

The webcomic link I posted yesterday has a follow-up today.

Another link. Have tissues ready.

Photographs From ‘Final Salute’ (NYTimes.com)

[Xenograg]

I cross-posted in Dragon's Mark. I would like to share one reply received:

Veterans Day

[Grayson]

Adam,

Thank you for posting those pictures. I didn't have tissues ready, but I needed them.

I'm writing this from Iraq. I am very lucky to be here in a training capacity in what is probably the safest place in Iraq. Where I am, training Iraqi Marines, it is very easy to become complacent and forget that you're in an active war zone. Today, however, a mortar round landed less than 10 miles outside my camp and less than 1 mile outside of another Coalition camp. Then, this evening, I saw a flare shoot off from the city followed by an explosion. It brings you back to reality really quick.

I have the pleasure of being stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Every day that I'm not deployed I have the pleasure of watching Marines being made. It's a very sobering thought when you see new recruits walk through the gates and watch them stand proudly in front of the people that mean the most to them as they officially become a Marine, when you know that the majority of them will be in Iraq or Afghanistan less than a month later. The thing a lot of people forget, both those who are anti and pro war, is that these young men and women volunteer for this. They all have their reasons, and regardless of anyone's opinion on our current administration and where we find ourselves internationally, these reasons are noble.

I take every chance I get to shake their hands and thank them for their service and their sacrifice.

Thank you to everyone in this community who has served or who has supported someone who has served in any way shape or form.

Have you thanked a serviceman lately?

-Grayson

[DUEL Erin]

Edit: Sorry about the posting name, I keep logging in to do shift reports and then like, start posting and it gets done under the wrong name.

That comic really did strike a chord in me. A lot of my friends were or are in the army, and though most of them swear up and down that they never really saw combat, or they were in a safe place in Iraq, it's still sobering to think that they have the kind of experiences once attributed to grand parents or the "crazy" man in a wheelchair who sat on the corner and begged for money.

Veteran's day for me is a reminder that we need to be vigilant of the services we as a country offer our veterans so that they can live long healthy happy fruitful lives. These people are young, and sometimes damaged beyond repair, and other than the media focusing on the times the "snap" or "lash out" against themselves or others, are invisible to most people in everyday life.

I traveled with a young man who joined after 9/11 and saw combat in Iraq. he later was in colege, and we were on an academic tour of the country. At the end, we had to write and do a reading, and he wrote with the best clarity I have ever seen about his time there and how he felt. The words of these people are so fresh and hard to handle, that people try not to. I guess for me it's important to remember that it isn't just wounds that need to be treated, it's minds. People come back having not only made the sacrifice of their health, but also now they have to live with a reality I know I will never have to live with as I sit on my couch.

I just hope that all people of this generation can listen to veterans and know how to talk to them about their lives and experiences in ways that are helpful, not voyeristic. And can understand their feelings and views as individuals, not as part of a political agenda. It's more than just praying or tryng to help people "get back to normal", but understanding how best to accept and welcome them, their sacrifice and their feelings.

I guess I rambled, but, in the end, it just makes me sad to see the world ignore mental health not only in civilians, but also in the people who were willing to give up everything for values. No matter if you agree with their values, it's admirable that people can put their lives behind their convictions.