veterans day 2010 thoughts from an old soldier

8/8/2019 Veterans Day 2010 Thoughts from an Old Soldier

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Veterans Day 2010 TO THE REGIMENT!

Today my blog has nothing to do with small business or entrepreneurship,

instead I wanted to take a minute in honor of Veterans Day to reflect on what

it means to to me be a veteran. For any readers who aren't veterans or spouses

of veterans you may want to back tab out now, you probably will not be able to"relate" anyway but come back when we start talking bidness again. For those

of you who are vets I wanted to just share some of my personal thoughts and

memories. I spent 20 years in the Army, 7 active duty and 13 in the Arkansas

National Guard and I could not have gotten though it without the love and

support of my wife. If you are in a relationship the military is a "team effort"

and I appreciate all that she has gone through over the years as an army wife. I am also proud of the fact

that our son chose to follow the same path and is currently a captain in the army serving in Belgium with

his bride.

On Veterans Day we need to step back and reflect on what the young men and women in our military face

daily so that we can enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For my friends who have served their

country you know what the unknown author of the piece below was saying... Today thank you for your

service, you are never far from our thoughts and prayers.

The Average American Fighting Man (unknown)

"The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short-haired, tight-

muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half

man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old

enough to die for his country. He never really

cared much for work and he would rather wax hisown car than wash his father's; but he has never

collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,

pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten-year old jalopy, and has a

steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be

waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and

roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm Howitzers.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is

working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble

spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in

30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you

the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one

effectively if he must.


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He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to

stop or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not

without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of

fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and

his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his

rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food.

He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run

low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were

his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a

civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then

he should have in his short lifetime. He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create

them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while

tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven'tbothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day

in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the

price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American

Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked

nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.

Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood"

From http://www.usflagballoon.com/warimages.htm

Although I have been retired now for 10 years, military service still defines me and my life and there isn't a

day that goes by that I do not think of all the great friends and brothers in arms that I met along the way.

From the crusty old Majors and senior NCOs who molded me as a young lieutenant (Major Ron Mitrook

and MSG Willie Byrom) my old friend and mentor when I was a young captain at Fort Polk Major Hap

Scandrett. To all of my friends in the206th Field Artillery, Arkansas National Guardyou are

legion- but a few that are always part of my life: Colonel (retired) John Brackin, Col Keith Klemmer, LTC

Damon Cluck and of course my friends Tom Bentley, Dallas Harmon, Monroe Manley, Tony Caldwell,

Larry Miller, Bobby Dummond, Steve Keeton..just a few of the many comrades whose faces and laughs are

etched into me.

My wife sometimes worries that I don't have any real "civilian friends" but I have true friends with bonds

that haven't been broken over the decades. The reason: I think Bill Shakespeare said it best in Henry V

and the speech on St. Crispen's Day.


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.This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world, But

we in it shall be remembered- We

few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For

he to-day that sheds his blood with meShall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not

here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any

speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Bill must have been a soldier in a previous life.

Finally what cements bonds among vets are also the pledges we took and the codes we agreed to live by:

Excerpt from the Code ofConduct:

Iam an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. Iam prepared to

give my life in their defense. Iwill never forget thatIam an American, fighting for freedom,

responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. Iwill trust in

my God and in the United States of America.

And the oath I swore when I was commissioned:

"I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) thatIwill support and defend the Constitution of the United States

against all enemies, foreign or domestic, thatIwill bear true faith and allegiance to the same; thatI

take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and thatIwill well

and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which Iam about to enter; So help me God."

Bound by friendship, bound by duty, honor and a love of country that's what make veterans unique that's

what makes me proud to be a veteran... Gentlemen: A Toast "TO THE REGIMENT!" Never Give

Up.

veterans day 2010 thoughts from an old soldier

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