I have spent thirty of my last forty years in Orlando. At their parade, you put on your old Unit shirt and maybe a hat that states your conflict (Desert Storm for me) and show up looking for the Boy Scouts carrying your banner. Usually an ex-NCO forms the group of us in some semblance of a formation (Commissioned Officers are never very good at moving troops) and the herd moves out at our time and place.
I'm in Birmingham AL now. Birmingham is the home of the longest, continuse Veterans' Day Parade in the United States (something like 127 years). Being a little chilly, I'm wearing a nice long sleved dress shirt with my decorations over the unit shirt and my newest "Gulf War" ball cap.
Some clown with a clipboard tells me I can't march, I'm not a real Veteran because I'm not associate with a group like the VFW or American Legion. There is no place for me.
Many men who have fought for this country care not to belong to those organizations. Some never even bother to put in for their medical benefits until it is their only choice. I know many from a 90 year old who spent years in the military and fought in 3 wars to a 65 year old who recently died of cancer from agent orange. My nephew fought right along side you in desert storm and that war was no walk in the park. He himself being infantry was in the middle of the action sucking in smoke from the burning oil fields while snipers tried to blow you away. Many are sick from lung ailments they will live with till they die. the oil slick they washed off their face every chance they could will surely be another health hazard to many as the pores of their skin broke open.
I salute you my old friend and thank you for standing up for the freedom we so often forget we are blessed with. I also wish there was a way to contact that ass hole and let him know what a jerk he is.
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