Story 1

May 17, 2008

THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY!

Today is Armed Forces Day, a day set aside to salute all those serving in the United States military...no matter what branch of service they serve or have served. Armed Forces Day was created in 1949 to consolidate the different days that were previously set aside. The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated with parades, open houses, receptions and air shows. These events were widely attended by community members all over the United States.

So, my question is what happened through out the years following this first celebration? Why do we no longer celebrate it? We still have a strong military force, we still have wars, we still have five military branches, and most of all we still have people that deserve to be saluted for their service.

What makes our military so strong? One reason is because of the training they receive. They are taught to be proficient in each task they perform. They also have the best teachers, their predecessors...the experienced veterans. So what is a Veteran?

The best stated definition of a Military Veteran is:

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. A Veteran...one who wears or has worn the U.S. military uniform no matter what branch it is whether the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, or Navy. A veteran..a person that is young or old, injured or fit, male or female, and with a status of active duty, Reserve, Guards, discharged, or retired. These are all veterans...all can be described with adjectives such as: hardworking, brave, loyal, and unselfish.

Should we not applaud our military, our veterans, on a daily basis? Should we not show them our pride? Sure we have Veterans Day and Memorial Day, we also have Armed Forces Day (today) and 362 other days in the year that the military members risk their lives for us. Should we just acknowledge them for one day? How many of you put your life on the line, on call 24 hours a day, watch your friends get killed...day, after day, after day? They fight and dedicate their lives for our freedom, they leave their families, they get very little pay for what they do, they protect rights for people they don't even know, and they give us peace. They do all this for us, you and I, for what? So we can have freedoms such as religion and speech and even the freedom for saluting the flag of our country.

Our military members and veterans have invested themselves into our country. They serve with honor, with love, and with faith. Those that serve now in the time of war and those that have served previously have paid their dues to be classified as a respected citizen of our country. Now, what would our lives be like if we didn't have these courageous service members? They are patriotic and they love their country, we need to support their decision for joining. Now, more than others before them, we are an all volunteer force...they have a choice...they have made the right one. We need to let them know that. We also need to teach the youth about what the military members have done for them, and tell them why they do it.

This is one of many days that we should go out of our way to say thank you, to show our appreciation for what they sacrifice or have sacrificed for us.

In Honor and remembrance of all Military Veterans
THANK YOU