I received this in an email from a friend.  Although the words aren't mine I certainly agree with the message they convey.  Perhaps others of you will as well.
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Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, or a certain look in the eye.  Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg, or perhaps another sort of inner steel--the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.  Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe bear no badge or emblem.  You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months on the desert sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.  

He or she is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another, or didn't come back at all.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat, but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medal with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heros in the Tomb of the Unknowns, who presence in Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heros whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied now and aggravatinly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to comfort him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of life's most vital years in the service of his country and who sacrificed his ambitions so that others would not have to sacrifice theirs.  

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

great words eom

lord knows where this great country of ours would be without them.

cheers to all our Vets!

That was inspiring, Greywolf. Thank you for your post.

Like I said in a previous post earlier, I am a veteran, as well as my dad and his dad before him. Since my brother was too ill to go into the military and my sister started a family early, and since I was athletic, I went and served our country. There's times I still can't believe I volunteered because I was such a rebel when I was younger (a good student and a well-mannered child, but a little too inventive and pursuasive with my other friends. I'm glad I did, however, because I feel like I contributed in some small way. I, too, remember feeling the heat of the Saudi sun on my face and the bitter cold of being out on guard at night with my M-16 in one hand. I know, you must be getting a picture that I'm really butch, eh?  I'm not, just a strong woman with a lot of principals and firm about what I believe to be right and good. I think everyone who teaches in our school system should be rewarded, as well as others such as preachers, firefighters, policewomen and men who save lives (and not harrass us, of course), mothers holding their sick babies, fathers who work endlessly to provide for their families and single mothers with no other resources but their own, disabled people who still have fight in them and the courage to smile when they're hurting, senior citizens who act as mentors to our youth, counselors who fight to save our youth from gangs and violence, and the homeless veterans who once layed their lives on the line for freedom and now have no where or no one to care for them.

Bless you all,
Ciara

This holidaay has special meaning to me, as I, too, am a veteran.  Although it's perfectly OK to criticize our government's policies. especially when it comes to military matters, one cannot blame those brave women and men that man the walls in defense of our way of life.

These dedicated people, especially the career soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and coast guardsmen, have made many sacrifices in an effort to keep us all safe.  We all sleep well at night because these people are there for us.

God Bless them all.

And Greywolf, thanks for this post.

F.

It's good to know that I am not the only provider around who is a veteran. I"m not butch either LOL and most people find it highly amusing when I tell them that I was once in the Army. They are usually very shocked and find it hard to believe. Heck, I was such a sissy before I went into the Army that I would have a fit if I broke a nail. LMAO  I now  know that I can take care of myself and help others when needed and I'm not butch at all.
Thanks Greywolf for the kind words. Really hit home and brought a tear to my eyes.

Kisses,

Tiffany

Greywolf, I remeber when you posted this once and I thought it was so good I saved it.  With thanks to you, here is that post:

Veterans Day: When first established as a national holiday it was called Armistice Day to commenorate the ending of the First World War on that date in 1918.  The document of surrender was signed on that date & at that time in a rairoad car in the forest near the outskirt of the small French town of Compiengne.

In spite of the carnage that took place, on a then unheard of level---casualties as high as 5% of the total population in some European nations (can you imagine 15 million US casualties today?)---the so-called "Great War", the "War to End All Wars" failed miserably to accomplish that lofty goal.  Many of the world's subsequent problems, including those of today, are still the same.  Perhaps little has changed except the focus of the issues & the lethality of modern weapons of war.  

But that should not, however, be allowed to diminish the contributions & sacrifices made by those who have defended our freedoms, either past or present, whether on the battlefield in time of conflict or by standing guard in time of peace.  The debt we owe those brave people is enormous; far beyond payment.  All we can do is to honor them for their courage & dedication.

You may hear "Taps" played at some point.  The story of the origin of the melody is too long to recount here, & some of you may know it already, but you may not know there are also these words:

Day is done
Gone the sun
From the lakes
From the hills
From the sky
All is well, safely rest.
God is nigh.

Fading light
Dims the night
And a star
Gems the sky,
Gleaning bright
From afar,
Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars,
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

I was kind of prissy before I joined, too!  A few of my friends were convinced that I wouldn't even make it through basic training.  Well, I made it through that AND a deployment to Somalia, too!  I just love that I learned how strong and capable I can be.  I love the confidence in myself that I have as a result.  I love that I am feminine, but can still kick a$$.  Joining the Army was a great experience for me-taught me so much about myself and opened up the whole world to me.  
To Ci Ci, Tiff and all the other vets here: Cheers!!