Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Say what you will about small towns, out here amongst the "great unwashed," as Katie Couric affectionately calls us, they know how to honor vets. I stood, coffee in hand, with veterans from every conflict since WWII this morning, along with families and children, to soak in the atmosphere of a Veterans Day parade.
Among the more memorable moments of the parade was when a large contingent of active duty troops marched by. Everyone rose and spontaneously broke into sustained applause. Those who had served gave a standing ovation to those currently serving. Then, just as spontaneously, individual troops from the active duty group broke ranks and walked up to veterans and shook our hands as we thanked each other for serving. One young lady approached me, and clasped my hand with both of her hands. Was that a tear in her eye? It was hard to tell, but she seemed moved as she looked me in the eye and said, "Thank you, sir." I thanked her for keeping us safe. There is something about that moment, when generations meet and appreciate each other, that stays in my mind.
The Patriot Guard was there, throttles wide open. A Pearl Harbor survivor who had been awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart, was given a ride in the parade. I saluted him, and I must confess I felt a chill when he returned my salute.
The guest speaker at the ceremony, an Army Brigadier General, spoke of a simple concept: Silence. The silence a family experiences when their loved one deploys. The silence a service member may long for during drills, or when his daily routine is accompanied by the sound of mortars, gunfire, screams of the wounded, the rumble of tanks, or the roar of jets. Perhaps the hardest silence of all, said the General, is when our nation's flag is presented to a grieving loved one at a grave side.
The General then asked everyone to rise and observe a moment of silence to honor those who serve, those who have served, and those who gave the last measure of their lives in service. From Yorktown to Gettysburg, he said, from Pearl Harbor to Korea, from the rice paddies of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, America's warriors stand shoulder to shoulder, defending our country and our freedom. The General had to pause periodically to gain command over his emotions as he looked out over a sea of glittering hats, and wheelchair-bound men and women. The emotions ran strong from all around, it seemed.
A wreath was laid at the memorial to honor the fallen, and we rendered a proper salute when Taps was played. I don't know why my eyes water so much when I hear that song. It must be my contact lenses.
Then there was an ominous, low pitched sound above. Looking up and to the south, we could see a two-ship formation of F-22s moving in. Then, when they were overhead, they throttled up and the ground shook with the awful roar, ...of freedom itself. As the jets faded away, a procession of bagpipes played Amazing Grace, and nary a dry eye could be found.
At the ceremony's conclusion, I took a few minutes to personally thank folks who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The General was right. Times change, but we still stand shoulder to shoulder, and I am personally humbled and honored to stand with these remarkable people, and grateful beyond words to live in a country that is so worth defending.
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Comments :
Aug '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thanks
Jul '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thank you Dave!
Jun '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thank you, brother.
Nine more years and I get to wear the retired cap, too!
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Others have already said it, but on this day, the act of saying it, over and over again, is the point.
Thanks.
May '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thanks for the great post, Dave, and thanks to you and all who serve. Remembrance and thanks are the least we can do.
Neither my Granddad (WWI) or Dad (Korea) made much of their being veterans, I think because neither saw much combat, and because both knew many who had gone through much worse, and I guess they didn't feel they deserved the attention.
But I do remember that when I was married and the men of my family met the men of my wife's family, they quietly exchanged the details of their service, the way men of those generations often did. No big deal, of course. "Others did more" they would say.
May '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
I've spent a lot of time today thanking the veterans in my life. Your turn: thank you Dave!
Jun '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thank You.
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
As much as I appreciate everyone's kind comments above, I'd like to respond specifically to Casey Taylor. Casey, if I may be so presumptuous as to offer advice to someone on active duty, I'd say this: Savor the moment. Many of us, present company included, remember a time when we were so busy, so "in the moment," that we didn't take time to reflect and appreciate the sheer magnitude of what we were involved in. We look wistfully at the young troops now, and remember when we were a part of something so much larger than ourselves. Don't wait until you're a retiree to allow yourself to appreciate what you're doing now. I wish someone had offered this little nugget 20 years ago. Savor the moment, cherish your role in history, and please accept my thanks for your service, sir. God Bless.
May '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Dave, your posts never cease to inspire. Thanks.
And thanks to all of our gun-happy warmongers. ;)
Nov '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
I just joined Ricochet, and I'm glad I did in time to say thank you.
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thank you Lucy, and welcome! Nice to have you with us!
Jun '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Thank you, Dave. I started to come to the realization a year or so ago that my career could very possibly be halfway over (though I'm going to stick around until they tell me to go home), and I've tried to live conscious of the uniform ever since. This is a special thing that we do, and a humbling responsibility. I'm very grateful that I'm able and allowed to do it. I'm also grateful for you and your service, Dave, and for the service to which you've now put yourself. God bless you, and feel free to share your lessons learned any time you get the itch!
Jul '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Dave – Is it age and a growing love of country, or just an immense pride in what our country stands for – its foundational principles and what it has accomplished throughout the world – that makes me tear up on days like this, or reading columns such as yours, even meeting military personnel and thanking them for their service? Maybe all of it. Just seeing our flag on foreign soil (embassies, consulates) always filled me with such pride. Once, when taking a long walk back to the hotel from our offices in Madrid one evening, I rounded a corner and there it was. What a magnificent sight – because of what it stands for, in every sense. Thank you, and God bless you.
Sep '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Dear Dave:
"We have shared the incommunicable experience of war. In our youth, our hearts were touched with fire."
Oliver Wendell Holmes (as quoted in Ken Burns' The Civil War.)
And of course, Sullivan Ballou's letter to his wife.
Thank you, Dave, and thank you all, for your service.
Carsten Stroud.
Oct '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Quote from a previous U.K.:
"There was a guy in the platoon and we were on a very long patrol, a twenty-four hour movement. Everyone was exhausted and one guy started falling out… failing physically, and we were in a very bad place… And this one guy in the platoon who I was very close with said “You can’t be tired. You don’t have the right to be tired.” Combat is the only situation where you don’t have the right to experience something as human as exhaustion. The reason is what happens to you happens to everyone; if you slow down everyone has to slow down… It makes the individual completely accountable to the group. It’s not a matter of discipline from above, it’s lateral discipline from your brothers in the platoon." - Sebastian Junger
God Bless All Who Serve
May '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
I can where one of those decorated caps in the future too - if the Defense Department doesn't forget to issue me by DD 214 form already.
May '10
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
But nicely put Dave.
Re: Veterans Day Reflections II: Shoulder to Shoulder
Barbara, I think it's a combination of the things you mention. Perhaps age and experience bring about the realization that freedom is the exception, rather than the rule in human experience and that it is easily lost. You mention the thrill of seeing our flag on foreign soil, and that is so very true. As inspiring as it is at home, it is absolutely magnificent abroad. I remember one afternoon in Korea, when our wing commander looked into my office and invited me to go outside with him to observe the lowering of the flag at the end of the duty day. I did so, of course. There was something about the national anthem and paying respect to the flag only a few minutes from Pyongyang via SCUD missile that was simultaneously exhilarating, audacious, and inspiring. At that moment, there was nowhere else on the planet I would rather have been than right there.