Thanks to all Veterans.

Thinking of you Dad.

And thanks to all of you who have children, spouses or loved ones currently serving!

Thank you all for your service. I SALUTE you all.

To all veterans especially those of the Vietnam era welcome home and thank you for what you did.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:
To all of our veterans PAST /PRESENT / FUTURE we owe you a dedt of gratitude for your service.. Also a thanks to the families that stayed behind and gave support for their service...without this support it allowed us to do our job and not worry about what was going on at home.....1968-1977..VIET NAM ERA.. KOREAN DMZ..former DRILL SGT.

Back at ya Sarge! And to all the others who have served and sacrificed. :thumbsup:
I was an army drill sergeant before taking a naval commission. Served from 1966-1999.

To my brothers and sisters in arms I say thank you for your service. To their wives/husbands, parents and children I say thank you for doing the most difficult job in the military.

God Bless you all.

In Flanders fields, the poppies grow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
Thank you to all Veterans, past and present.

And Amen, with recognition for Veterans' families, who sacrificed much as well, and sometimes everything.

Happy Veteran's Day to all of my fellow brothers and sisters that have/are/will serve. I salute you!!

Thanks and a salute to all who have served.

Be sure that your flags are blowing in the wind!! As you were!

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
Be sure that your flags are blowing in the wind!! As you were!

......as a rider with the PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS I would fly a small AMERICAN FLAG (3ft x 5ft) off the back of the bike and SHE WAVED PROUDLY..........drill sgt.

Happy Veteran day to all service personnel.

I served in a time of relative peace with very little conflict. EAS 6 Jun 1990, just weeks before Desert Shield started up.

I am proud of my service, but to be honest I sometimes feel like I don’t warrant the same recognition as those who served before or after I did.

I got out with a single bar of ribbons. Meritorious Unit Citation, Good Conduct, and Sea Service Deployment. I see photos of E-3 and E-4 now with three or even four rows of ribbons and am amazed at how much more they have done in service to our Country.

This really hit home one day a couple years ago when I was getting out of the truck at the grocery store as a young man with his wife and child were approaching from the passenger side, walking down the parking lot aisle. My guess is he was in his 20s with longer, shaggier hair than I would wear or wish to see my sons wear and some facial scruff that was neither stubble nor beard/mustache. See it all the time on the younger generation and I have become used to it. The timing was such that I was getting out and still on the drivers side as he approached.

He commented on my Pledge of Allegiance decal, noticed the EGA and asked if I served, I replied I did 9 years and he thanked me for my service. It was an honest, heartfelt thanks, not the kind of casual, almost forced ones I sometimes see. Given his appearance, it actually kind of shocked me. He mentioned that he just got out of the Corps a year earlier, but was “only” in for 2 years.

While I didn’t entirely believe him at the time (again, his appearance) I thanked him for his thanks and thanked him for his service as well. Just as I came around the end of the truck and got my first full view of the man.

This Marine was wearing shorts and had a high-tech prosthetic leg (that probably cost considerably more than my truck) for his above the knee amputation. I immediately felt like absolute shit for mentally questioning him based on his appearance.

Trying to maintain composure (acute allergy flare up I believe) I told him he gave far, far more in his 2 years than I did in my 9 and then I thanked him again as well as his wife and child for their sacrifice.



As I get older I am much more aware of the toll these constant “military actions” are taking on our country and its young warriors. Next year will mark 30 years since I have been out and for nearly that ENTIRE time Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines have been stationed all over this world IN ARMED CONFLICT to deal with the shit our politicians can’t or won’t resolve and, in some cases, even start.

Military service member lives are still being sacrificed monthly, if not weekly or daily, yet that sacrifice doesn’t seem to get much attention anymore because it has unfortunately become the new normal. You have to search out to find the names of these hero’s who gave all for the idea of “America”.

All the while those elected to office play games to gain or maintain power, leverage problems to divide groups and demonize opponents instead of working to resolve and fix them and waste billions of dollars setting Americans against Americans instead of trying to bring us together and keep our country strong.

Don’t mean to be a downer going on about this, but I have grown weary seeing Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day turn into nothing more significant for most than a day off work and a reason for stores to have a sale.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
I am proud of my service, but to be honest I sometimes feel like I don’t warrant the same recognition as those who served before or after I did

This really resonates with me. I was in 02-06 but I didn't get deployed downrange and it bothers me to this day. My grandpa was the state president of the VFW and I can't even join.

A big thank you to the poster who said they reply with Thank You for your support - I always feel awkward and don't know what to say but that will be my reply from now on.

My father started this.
http://youarecurrent.com/2019/...those-killed-at-war/
I spent 6 years in with 3 at Ft Riley, KS as a crewchief on a Medivac Huey. Thanks to all who have served and those that have honored us.

Thank You and your family for the sacrifices you've made serving our country.

Seeing the posts of the young kids heading out to boot camp- really moving. A heartfelt Thank You.

To 911 Boss and SSgt Elmer. If you served with honor whether in a combat zone or not you have the distinction of being a veteran and as such are just as worthy as the rest of us for the thanks of a grateful nation.

I too used to feel like you as I wasn't on the "front lines" rather I was on an aircraft carrier (CV-61 USS Ranger) with an A6 squadron. I greased them, lubed them up, fixed their hydraulics and sheet metal, and when I wasn't doing that I was extra muscle for loading the ordinance.

We all made a difference, and were all part of one big machine. Had we not done our jobs to the best of our ability someone would have been hurt and we wouldn't be winning the conflict.

Dave