It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin
is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
By Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
I love this poem - I "borrowed" it from daughter #2, who posted it on her blog this morning. Being married to a former Marine, it is very dear to her heart.
I must admit that growing up Veterans Day had not always been particularly important to me. My parents explained about the significance, and my mother shared stories about World War II from her experiences during war time and the young men she knew who served. My father did not serve in the military, due to a medical problem. A friend of mine's Dad had been at Pearl Harbor. Anytime I had dinner at her house and her Dad would indicate he was going to talk about the war, the family would groan and say, "Oh no, not again!" and he would remain quiet. Which is a shame, really. When I was in the Seventh Grade, a boy in our class lost his brother in the Vietnam War. I can still see the pain in his face when he came back to school, and that he wore his brother's green fatigue jacket for the rest of the term.
We never quite seemed to get to World War II in our history books before the end of the school year. So it wasn't until my nephew entered West Point and I felt a personal connection, that I gave the military much thought. After September 11th, it all become much too real.
When I first went back to teaching Third Grade, daughter #1 had just left for college, following her cousin who had entered West Point that summer. I set up a "college corner", a bulletin board with names and photos and had the students write letters to them in order to work on "letter writing skills". The students were thrilled when they wrote back. After they graduated, and my nephew went off to the war in Iraq, our writing campaign focused on him and several of his friends who were also serving. A couple of years later, we added the then fiance of daughter #2, a Marine. I think our list of names eventually got up to almost a dozen soldiers and Marines, two of them women. After their tours of duty, my nephew and son-in-law were gracious enough to come and visit the students, patiently answering their questions and telling them how much they appreciated their support. I hope my former students will remember the cards and letters they sent. I still have the responses we received.
"Thank you for your service" seems so inadequate when you think abou the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served in our military, and by the families who love and support them. But the soldiers and Marines I've known didn't do it for the "thanks". They did it because they believe in this country, and in freedom, and in rushing in to help when the call is made. They don't look for anything in return. Is that the definition of a hero? I think so. You?
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