Vetran's Day Blog
Remembering Veteran's On Their Day
Nov/11/09 09:41
Today is my day. At least that is what I say around my office every year when Veteran’s Day comes around. I half heartedly say I should have the day off although I would not take it if it was offered. I did after all spend 4 years in the regular ARMY and another 6 years in both the Florida and New Jersey National Guards. But seriously, today is the day we stop and say “thank you” to vets of all generations and age groups. And then we continue on with our lives. For those of us who served we rarely look for admiration or praise from people who did not. We grizzly old vets sit around and revisit the funny stories from our service, reminisce about the soldiers known and lost and wonder how the troops today do it. The things I remember are:
And so I take time today, and multiple times during most weeks to think about my fellow vets, active duty soldiers and those ready to join. I encourage you to thank a vet, not today, but whenever you see them. I encourage you to remember we secured our freedom with volunteers, saved the world, TWICE, with 18 year old kids, have taken the lead role as the world police and continue to fight the world’s most evil people with the greatest fighting force ever assembled in the history of this planet. To the American fighting men and women past and present, GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY and THANK YOU for your service.
- My grandmother telling me of the 4 YEARS my grandfather spent on a Navy ship during WWII. He battled the Axis powers, malaria and time spent apart that none of us today can imagine.
- Going to the recruiter when I was 17 and being intrigued by the adventure of joining the ARMY.
- Milfred Winter, from my high school homeroom, being the first person I knew to join the ARMY and was sent to the DMZ in Korea right out of basic training, at 18!
- Watching the first bombing of the World Trade Center on television and wondering how long it will take the military hating President Clinton to respond appropriately to the terrorists.
- Enlisting in the ARMY on March 17, 1993 so my family and I could have a roof over our heads and eat. The prospect of the $742 monthly paycheck sealed the deal as it was more money than I had at the time to feed my family of 3.
- Leaving for basic training on Good Friday and missing my daughter’s first Easter.
- 56 days and a wake up call until I leave Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
- Getting to Fort Drum, New York and wondering how I am going to survive the next 4 years.
- Seeing the soldiers from our sister unit, 2/14 Infantry, come home from Somalia with arms and legs missing and some of their battle buddies in a pine box.
- Hearing about our deployment to Haiti from the Clinton News Network (CNN). They had such little respect for the troops they broke the news to me instead of SSG Ricky Gaines, my platoon sergeant.
- Standing in line for my malaria shots at 2 a.m. waiting to be deployed. My daughter was 19 months old and my son 4 months old.
- Hiring a videographer to spend an hour taping me with the kids incase I did not come home from the deployment.
- Driving away from Ashley and Brandon waving as I left for Rome Air Force Base in New York, then onto Roosevelt Roads Navy Base in Puerto Rico and then some god forsaken field in Cape Haitian, Haiti.
- Sitting under the stars guarding ammunition at 3 a.m.
- Seeing 1300 soldiers come for the same breakfast everyday, with a smile on their face.
- Kissing the ground when I landed in South Carolina from my Haitian deployment.
- Giving up two weeks in the summer to drill with my National Guard units in Florida and New Jersey.
- Serving my unit, 2/15 Communications Battalion in Westfield, NJ, on September 11, 2001…before the terrorist attacks started.
- Not knowing if the war against terrorism would take me away from my family once again, but having my bags packed every day for a year just in case.
And so I take time today, and multiple times during most weeks to think about my fellow vets, active duty soldiers and those ready to join. I encourage you to thank a vet, not today, but whenever you see them. I encourage you to remember we secured our freedom with volunteers, saved the world, TWICE, with 18 year old kids, have taken the lead role as the world police and continue to fight the world’s most evil people with the greatest fighting force ever assembled in the history of this planet. To the American fighting men and women past and present, GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY and THANK YOU for your service.
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