Sunday, November 10, 2019

Veteran's Day 2019

      I have written posts on veteran's day for as long as I can remember. They are always tough to write because they bring back a lot of memories and I think about the servicemen who are in conflict today.



      The picture above is from WW-2 and and I searched to find there are an estimated 496,777 veterans left alive as of 2018. That may sound like a lot, but compare that to 16,000,000 in uniform during that war. My dad, my uncle, Joyce's dad, her uncle were in that war, but all have passed away. Joyce's uncle spent a year in a German prison camp until the end of the war. He was a gunner on a B-24 bomber and was shot down on a mission over Munich, Germany.

      I saw a TV commercial about "Shoe Boxes for Soldiers" a few days ago. I thought about that for a long time. Packages sent overseas for soldiers began in WW-2. Joyce and her mother were sending them to our nephew in Iraq and Afghanistan until he retired recently after 23 years.

      So here we in 2019 still sending necessities, snacks and letters from home to soldiers, sailors, marines and air force men overseas in conflict. I was putting it nice saying conflict when it is WAR. So here we are 78 years later, still sending packages overseas to men, veterans serving their country.

      I am a veteran. I understand first hand what it is like to be overseas and miss regular holidays, Christmas, birthdays, family events. Any veteran can tell you that.

      Here's my thought for veteran's day this year. Wouldn't the best thing we could do for veterans be bring them home so they don't become a stranger to their own family? Politics aside, I have dubious national security concerns with the military/industrial complex that keeps soldiers in war, gets generals another star on their collar devices and makes defense companies CEOs wealthy and gets the best young men of our country injured both physically and mentally if not killed.

      
I realize many if not most people will find fault with my thoughts in this post, but I care more about veterans and families than I do about defense companies getting wealthy and generals getting another star of their collars.
      
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.

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