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I believe a veteran is …..
One who opposes war as a solution but values might when required to affect a solution.
One who values their life in relation to a cause important to their nation?
One who stands proudly to salute their flag as an icon of their nation and values they hold dear.
One whose humility stands out more often than others around them do.
These are the attributes of the Veteran…..
I say to a veteran, “Thank you and your family for your service & sacrifice, we owe you a debt to hear this from at least one person every day.” The reply so often received is - “No thanks necessary, it was my honor to serve.” It is their reply that reveals the spirit of the Veteran, an unofficial title of Honor and respect due to those who served for the true hero they are.
There are those in our society who chose to undermine and demean what a Veteran is, using the term to distinguish time in a job or as some title in a computer game for “experience earned.”
There are those in government whose political views oppose war and they therefore oppose all Veterans for the sake of politics, the Veteran a pawn in their game of thrones.
There are those in society who opposed a particular war at one time and continue to oppose its Veterans. These individuals interpose the noble reason of a government-imposed draft to justify supporting their nation's enemies and creating chaos within their own country as protected acts done under the guise of a statement of Freedom of Speech and Expression. Some people who, in the least of their actions, spit on our returning Veterans, in uniform, even while injured in a wheelchair.
There are those who hate & detest Veterans and may, in the course of their business or job, be it banking, insurance, a restaurant, etc., do heinous deeds on behalf of their hatred. Several misgivings include denying a loan, denying a policy or denying needed care
Yet in spite of all this, we encounter a true oxymoron “Veteran's Administration” to which the attribute “dysfunction” is, and has been, a most graceful understatement lasting for more than 60 years. The Veteran, who has faced death as a tool to be used or at the loss of a fellow Soldier more often than those who hate them, continues humbly to move through their life. Be it in a cardboard box, providing for their family now and in the future, or to assure a warm and healthy meal every day, the Veteran continues to “take that hill” and overtake all opposition as a matter of course, conviction, self-worth, and, most importantly, Honor.
Therein lies the source of the Veteran's heroism and humility, their Honor, an Honor to serve. Please, if you see or run into a Veteran, express a simple thank you for their service and sacrifice, show them you Honor their Honor that you appreciate the slice of their life they put forward on America's behalf, standing for your nation, irrespective of the outcome or the government's reason for war. These people served by choice but it is a contractual obligation that they cannot walk away from, or, they were drafted, the government assuming their life a “resource,” repugnant to the Veteran's very reason for fighting, “...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,...” Veterans deserve our heartfelt appreciation just because they are Veterans, the remaining American blood and Treasure of a group of Americans who continue to serve America with their Honor.
One who opposes war as a solution but values might when required to affect a solution.
One who values their life in relation to a cause important to their nation?
One who stands proudly to salute their flag as an icon of their nation and values they hold dear.
One whose humility stands out more often than others around them do.
These are the attributes of the Veteran…..
I say to a veteran, “Thank you and your family for your service & sacrifice, we owe you a debt to hear this from at least one person every day.” The reply so often received is - “No thanks necessary, it was my honor to serve.” It is their reply that reveals the spirit of the Veteran, an unofficial title of Honor and respect due to those who served for the true hero they are.
There are those in our society who chose to undermine and demean what a Veteran is, using the term to distinguish time in a job or as some title in a computer game for “experience earned.”
There are those in government whose political views oppose war and they therefore oppose all Veterans for the sake of politics, the Veteran a pawn in their game of thrones.
There are those in society who opposed a particular war at one time and continue to oppose its Veterans. These individuals interpose the noble reason of a government-imposed draft to justify supporting their nation's enemies and creating chaos within their own country as protected acts done under the guise of a statement of Freedom of Speech and Expression. Some people who, in the least of their actions, spit on our returning Veterans, in uniform, even while injured in a wheelchair.
There are those who hate & detest Veterans and may, in the course of their business or job, be it banking, insurance, a restaurant, etc., do heinous deeds on behalf of their hatred. Several misgivings include denying a loan, denying a policy or denying needed care
Yet in spite of all this, we encounter a true oxymoron “Veteran's Administration” to which the attribute “dysfunction” is, and has been, a most graceful understatement lasting for more than 60 years. The Veteran, who has faced death as a tool to be used or at the loss of a fellow Soldier more often than those who hate them, continues humbly to move through their life. Be it in a cardboard box, providing for their family now and in the future, or to assure a warm and healthy meal every day, the Veteran continues to “take that hill” and overtake all opposition as a matter of course, conviction, self-worth, and, most importantly, Honor.
Therein lies the source of the Veteran's heroism and humility, their Honor, an Honor to serve. Please, if you see or run into a Veteran, express a simple thank you for their service and sacrifice, show them you Honor their Honor that you appreciate the slice of their life they put forward on America's behalf, standing for your nation, irrespective of the outcome or the government's reason for war. These people served by choice but it is a contractual obligation that they cannot walk away from, or, they were drafted, the government assuming their life a “resource,” repugnant to the Veteran's very reason for fighting, “...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,...” Veterans deserve our heartfelt appreciation just because they are Veterans, the remaining American blood and Treasure of a group of Americans who continue to serve America with their Honor.
Posted in these groups: 
Honor
Honor
Edited >1 y ago
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 71
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CPT Richard Riley
I've got honorable discharges out the wazoo, a DD214, been deployed multiple times. I'm a lifetime member of the VFW, and yearly member of the American Legion, DAV, and Fleet Reserve Association. I'm also a member of Combat Vets Motorcycle Association. So I consider myself a veteran!
I've got honorable discharges out the wazoo, a DD214, been deployed multiple times. I'm a lifetime member of the VFW, and yearly member of the American Legion, DAV, and Fleet Reserve Association. I'm also a member of Combat Vets Motorcycle Association. So I consider myself a veteran!
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CPT Richard Riley
I applaud your stamina. This was more thought provoking that factual, but many have chimed in.
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Wow, I don't even know where to start with this. Veterans are often people who have been raised with certain values and were, therefore, used by the government to execute its international political strategy, whether that included actual national defense or not. In some cases, veterans were not even raised with those values, but plucked off the streets by draft boards or given the choice "military or jail". Most of us, post-Viet Nam at least, made conscious decisions to join, based more on expectation than reality. We get a pass, though. We were young and propaganda is very strong.
Rather than glorifying war or service, I have come to two-time Medal of Honor recipient Major General Smedley Butler, USMC's conclusion that war is a racket. You can read more about him and his assertions at warisaracket.com.
Rather than glorifying war or service, I have come to two-time Medal of Honor recipient Major General Smedley Butler, USMC's conclusion that war is a racket. You can read more about him and his assertions at warisaracket.com.
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In the military we serve. We go where we are told to go and when we are told too. If you served in the military during a war, conflict police action or peace time you are a veteran. semper-Fi
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I joined the Army National Guard in May 2002. In June 2004 my unit was mobilized to go to Iraq, and I spent a month down at Ft Bliss Tx, for training, before I was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate and was sent home. There are government agencies and other places that consider me a veteran, but really, I don't because I never went. The guys who went, they have that experience...and one of our SSG's paid the ultimate price near Mosul. I don't know, maybe it's the guilt of being spared of being deployed, but I consider myself a veteran in the very, very loosest sense.
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Letter of law vs spirit of law! I am not a combat veteran I have served 28 years honorably! 4 active rest been guard and army reserve! When I meet with soldiers! They may have not served 180 days active duty but if they took an oath and wore the uniform that so many have paid the ultimate sacrifice they deserve my respect! Thank you all of you for supporting and defending the constitution of enemies foreign or domestically! I appreciate your service as a soldier airman seaman or marine veteran of war or not keep fighting the good fight and remember to vote were less than 10 percent of population that chose to stand for something bigger than ourselves. Sincerely SFC Nelson Minnesota
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A veteran is somebody that wrote that blank check. However much the government filled it out for is irrelevant in that sense. That said, not all vets are equal. I meet the statutory requirements, but don't pretend to be a "combat vet", nor to understand their struggles. I never had to deal with an actual combat deployment, and even if I had I would've been behind the wire most, if not all, of the time. We should respect each other enough to recognize the differences between us that the civilian world doesn't understand.
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