By Allen Hamrick
Once again Veterans Day is upon us, a day to honor those who made the choice for whatever reason to be the watchers, and if need be, war fighters in desert jungles and secret places that will not ever be named in history books. They put on a uniform to represent the USA on whatever shore, whether its city streets, mud-soaked jungles, unnamed ridges, dry deserts or fronts known only to government officials. Sometimes they come back and sometimes they don’t, but Veterans Day is all about the veterans who not only struggle with returning home, especially if they were involved in war time action, but also those who just want to be appreciated for their efforts, to be honored for signing the greatest volunteering contract anyone can sign and that is to give your life so others can live theirs.
The thing is when they make that commitment it doesn’t end when they take off the uniform, it continues. While our minds are free to think, talk and find our groove in the rhythm of the American dream, veterans more often than not continue to carry the baggage from their experiences in conflict. Many return home only to find that there is a different kind of fight that can’t be won with guns and knives. It’s a fight that continues to echo in their minds with the horrors of war and trying to reintegrate into the civilian world that is disconnected to the life and death decisions they had to make. It is these very elite men and women who chose to put your freedoms before their own.
So, this Veterans Day let’s do more than the passing, “Hey what’s up? Thank for your service.” We owe our very freedom to vote, to debate, to live, to have goals and dreams, to build, to raise families and more to our veterans. They are and they were our first and last defenses between tyranny and jealousy. For enemies who want to destroy us just because we are free, those who wear the uniform have always had our backs. Our armed forces have never been comprised of people who had their world handed to them on a silver platter but of young people who knew that there had to be somebody that stood their ground unafraid to do what was right.
So, honoring a veteran isn’t just about thank you for your service but an understanding of the life altering choice they made and acknowledging the weight of the invisible wounds of war and the transition back home. We owe veterans more than just a holiday; they have earned the active support and future attentiveness to their needs. Offer your time and support at local veterans’ centers such as the VFW or American Legion posts; giving an empathetic ear can bridge the gap between their sacrifice and return to civilian life. Never should a day pass that this country and her people ensure that there is no veteran left alone.