Every year, Nov. 11 is a day to observe with ceremonies that thank all of those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. But this Friday will be a special Veterans Day because of the promise that American troops in Iraq will be home by the end of the year.
In today’s edition of the East Valley Tribune you will find in PARADE Magazine a terrific essay written by Gen. Colin L. Powell entitled “Why We Serve.” We recommend you take a few minutes to read it.
General Powell is recognized as an American hero. He has long been retired but writes today that no one never really leaves our armed services.
“…the people I knew in my early days — from college ROTC and my first assignment — I still know. I think of them as family. In every assignment since, I’ve found a new family, but each time it’s also felt like an old family. And even though I’ve been retired from the military for 18 years, I’ve never left that family.”
The general writes touchingly of his closest friend from college and their service together in the military. And he tells of his friend’s heroic death in service to our country.
“Many people refer to the World War II generation as the greatest one, but we’ve had greatness in every single generation of Americans who have served. I know of none greater than the generation of GIs now fighting for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and serving around the world. Someday soon, they’ll need us to fight for them,” writes Gen. Powell.
So he urges that Americans make a commitment to volunteer assistance by contacting a local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, or the Disabled American Veterans. Rather than taking time once a year to thank veterans, we need to recommit to giving back in a way that helps these people who in many cases have given so much for each of us.
His essay points to a video on the Web of interviews with six people that have served in our Armed Forces. Don’t watch it if you are not prepared to be emotionally touched. Don’t watch it if you are not a patriot. If you do watch it, you will be touched. You will feel a patriot.
The president recently announced that all American troops now in Iraq will be home by the holidays. Nine years after it started, the war in Iraq will be over.
We should all pray for the safety of the men and women in service to our country every day. But extra prayers right now would be a good idea. We want our patriot soldiers to come home safe. No family should lose one of our own in these final days.
And please show appreciation to veterans this Friday by displaying an American flag, attending Veterans Day observances and thanking any veteran from any era that is met. Tell them you are proud of them and what they have done for their country.
davidflucier posted at 7:32 am on Sun, Nov 6, 2011.
Many of us remember what a horror it was for our Veterans when they were placed into an ill prepared VA Medical system during and after Vietnam. The issue today is how do we help support the massive numbers of Veterans who will be “coming home” in the near future and avoid the horrors of the past.
There are factors which indicate that the returning Veteran scenario is a “social tsunami” or “perfect storm” forming as an issue which we need to address because: the wars are winding down, there is tremendous downward pressure on state and federal budgets, the Department of Defense is implementing a large reduction in force…and it is happening in a weak economic environment.
This leaves our returning Veterans with fewer choices…choices that have both long term and short term impacts: 1) unemployment (and quite possibly homelessness, 2) criminal activities (and quite possibly incarceration), or 3) education and training as a way to “reinvent” themselves, and prepare themselves for a “new and global” economy. It also tends to buy them some time until the economy improves.
As Veterans and leaders in our community, we must prepare so that our support networks and agencies are prepared for the days ahead…aside from all the altruistic reasons, there are the financial and economic motives as well: Veterans bring with them financial and economic resource now and in the future.
If we seize the moment and welcome our Veterans with comprehensive support systems, protocols, programs and policies, Arizona can and will lead the nation as the most Veterans supportive state and will benefit immediately and immensely: socially, economically, and financially.
As we have seen, ASU is leading the way in education and their efforts are reaping immediate benefits…more Veterans coming to ASU (with financial resources) and these Veterans are becoming more successful with higher retention and graduation rates. UofA and NAU are experiencing the same remarkable results.
Retreating from our Veterans is most likely a formula for failure…for everyone. Doing more with less is really an oxymoron; it is also counterproductive. Lip service and a pat on the pack are really quite meaningless.
Telling a Veteran that "times are tough" rings hollow for those who sacrificed at Normandy, the Chosin, throughout the jungles of Vietnam, and for those who battled their way into Baghdad and across the Afghan plains.
We want more Veterans to come to Arizona and we want them to be successful in every aspect of their lives. We want them and their families to be well educated, enjoy good jobs, and be healthy and well.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 12:33 pm on Sun, Nov 6, 2011.
Veteran's Day was actually a day set aside by the Nations who fought in World War I to remember the Armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month of 1918 when hostilties came to a halt. The bloodiest war in modern history was finally at an end. Some of the battles saw tens of thousand dead and wounded in just one day. When I saw almost a square mile of crosses at just one of the World War I Cemeteries it was impossible to comprehend this scale of death. In these Cemeteries all across France and Belgium and other Countries, every cross will have the appropriate National Flag. Whole towns, villages and Scout troops will be out flagging the crosses of both the Allied and Enemy dead. Gardens will be stripped of their flowers that will be lovingly placed along side the crosses. There will be Stars of David and Crescent Moons amoungst the Crosses too. Sadly, many of the markers will just have "Unknown British Soldier", "Unknown American Soldier", "Unknown Canadian Soldier" or "Unknown German Soldier".
To me, November 11th will always be Armistice Day..or Rememberance Day. A Canadian Expeditionary Force Lieutenant Colonel, who served both as an artillary commander and a surgeon, John McCrae wrote there on the battlefield his great poem, "In Flanders Field the Poppies grow between the Crosses, row on row..."
Today, we now honor all of our Veterans. Thankfully, the days of the Anti-War Liberal hippies who disrespected our Vietnam War Military men and women have been replaced by America's love and respect for all who have served their great Nation.