Veteran's Day Thoughts - 2010

Across the Fence #312

Today is just another day to most people; a federal holiday, a day off work for some, and a pain in the butt for many people and business’ because there’s no mail delivery. A few homes will fly the flag today. I’d bet veterans occupy most of them.

It’s now 43 years since I officially became a veteran. What does being a veteran mean to me?

First of all, I’m a veteran because I served in the army for two years. That alone qualifies me as a veteran. I also spent a year in Vietnam, but that service has no bearing on my having attained “Veteran Status.” That was just a part of the experience of becoming a veteran. I would still be a veteran if I had never served in a war zone.

I believe veterans have some important messages to deliver that people need to hear, but few people want to hear it. Straight talk, no glossing over, no political spin doctors, no stories of heroics, no John Wayne charging the enemy and wiping them out single-handed, no “Let’s go kick some butt” talk. None of that, just the plain sobering truth about what being a veteran is all about. In my case, one who survived a war. It’s about boredom, fear, sorrow, joy, depression, elation, anger, frustration, disillusionment, friends, enemies, thoughts of home, and finally, surviving and returning back home as a veteran.

Yes, veterans have much they can teach young people and anyone else who is willing to listen. Study the history of war. History tends to repeat itself, especially its’ mistakes. Look at political agendas and examine the motives of a government that wants to wage war against another nation and its’ people. Is the cause worth dying for? Are you willing to die for that cause? Are you willing to send your son or daughter to fight and possibly be killed for the cause? Is the cause worth the taking of a life on the other side? Would you take that life if ordered to? Are there peaceful alternatives that haven’t been fully explored before committing troops to fight?

Every veteran should be asking these questions before we let our government put another generation of young people in harm’s way. Veterans can and should educate the next generation on the pros and cons of war. We shouldn’t leave such important issues to non-veteran politicians, who have no idea about what being in a war zone is all about. A look through the resumes of our national leaders reveals a serious lack of people with “veteran status” setting the policies that are sending another generation of our young people to foreign battlefields to become names on a new wall of “Heroes.”

What does it mean to be a veteran? It means we’ve been to the mountain, we’ve seen the other side. Most of us didn’t like what we saw. We have some idea of the cost of sending another generation up that mountain. Not the cost in dollars, but the cost in human lives and suffering, both physical and emotional. Not to mention all the lost potential. Being a veteran means reminding people of the costs of war.

On this particular Veteran’s Day, I’ve been invited to be the speaker at the Westby Area Schools Veteran’s Day program. I’ve asked several friends I served with, to join me for the program. We were drafted together, went through basic training together, and served in the same unit with the 4th Infantry in Vietnam. We went through a lot together. We’re still close friends. I’ll talk about that special bond and how lucky we are to still be alive.

We served during a very difficult and unpopular war, when being in the military, and later a Vietnam veteran, was looked down upon, not just by the general public, but also by many veterans of previous wars who looked at us as a bunch of “losers.” We quickly learned that it was best to shed our uniforms and not draw attention to our Vietnam veteran status. Most of us put Vietnam in the closet and went on with our lives. It would be 17 years before I came out of that closet and sought out other Vietnam vets because it was tough for all of us to feel so isolated.

Being a veteran carries with it a responsibility, whether we want that responsibility or not. That’s why we all need to come out of the closet and let people know we served in that unpopular war. Our responsibility is to educate and inform people so they’re in a better position to make decisions regarding war and peace in the future. No school would allow me to teach in their classrooms unless I had been trained and experienced in the subject I was to teach, and had the proper credentials. And yet we allow leaders who have never been to “school,” send our young people off to join our veteran ranks.

Yes, being a veteran carries with it responsibilities, even though many, if not most veterans, prefer to sit quietly by and not get involved. I’d like to see all veterans, in all the nations, become bridge builders, helping build a strong and lasting bridge for peace among all people and all nations.

That would be a legacy all veterans could be proud of.