Very few holidays are emotionally charged for me anymore. I don't get giddy at Christmastime. Labor Day is not exciting. 4th of July can be fun, but as I get older, I worry about an errant bottle rocket or artillery shell setting my roof on fire. Thanksgiving is OK, I love to cook and put on a big production for family, but I don't know that I am emotionally attached to it.
With that said, I have two holidays that are emotional days for me. Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Since Memorial Day is in the past, I will save that blog topic for next year. Today I will talk about my feelings when it comes to Veterans Day.
If you have read any of my postings, you will see that I served in the Army and the National Guard for a period that spanned 8 years. So by that fact alone I am a Veteran. I fit that definition of the word. But I never considered myself a Veteran. To me, the definition of a Veteran was the person that left the US, went off to some foreign country and put their life on the line. That was not me. I never left the US nor was I was ever in a life threatening situation. Over the years, I had been in situations where someone would ask if there was any Veterans in the room. I rarely ever raised my hand. Not out of shame, but by my own personal definition, I did not qualify to raise my hand.
This year Veterans Day kind of snuck up on me. I know, I only had to look at a calendar to avoid the sneak attack, but I didn't. The day before, I decided that I wanted to put a post on facebook about veterans day. But I wanted my post to be poignant. I came up with a lot of ideas, saw a lot of copy and paste posts that others put up about how they served and why you should thank a vet. They were OK, but they just didn't have the message I was looking for. By 9 am on Veterans Day, I was still struggling to come up with a post that said what I wanted it to say. Then it struck me, just say thank you. Say thank you to those you served with, to those that served before me and those that came after me. So I did. I thanked all my facebook friends that had been in the military, by name. Here is that post:
Thank you- Al, Ann, Bud, Chris, Dan, Del, Derek, Eddie, Eric, Frank, Glenn, Greg, Holly, Jarred, Jason, Jerry, Justin, Kelly, Kyle, Lance, Lisa, Lorraine, Marc, Matt, Mike, Nick, Paula, Roy, Sampson, Skip, Steve, Tammy, Tom, Tracie, Veronica and Wendy. It is an honor to know so many Veterans. A bigger thank you to all have served in combat, you all are my heroes.
The response I got from this was just awesome. 19 people "liked" my post and 7 commented on it. (All 7 commenter's were in this list of names.) How cool is that! I was amazed at the response, and also very proud. I had accomplished what I set out to do. I thanked my friends. My Veteran friends.
As the day wore on, I kept thinking about the definition of a Veteran and how I had come to terms with the word about a year earlier. I know it sounds strange to come to terms with a word, but that is what happened. So I decided to post again. This time it wasn't going to fit into a status update, I needed a bigger medium so I used facebook notes (like a blog page on facebook). Here is that post in its entirety:
Veteran's Day 2010
I feel compelled to write about my thoughts on Veteran's Day, but it won't fit in a status update.
Veteran's Day-
Over the years I have struggled with the definition of a Veteran. I have always been of the mindset that a Veteran is someone who goes off to a combat zone in a foreign country and puts his or her life on the line. I do not fit that personal definition of the word Veteran. During a long discussion I had with my Uncle Bud (Vietnam Vet) and my Cousin Ian (VA Psychologist), they provided me with a different point of view that provided me with some clarity on the proper definition. I don't know how receptive I would have been if Bud wasn't a combat vet and Ian had not been in his profession. So I thank them for helping me come to terms with the word.
Since then, I have been able to distinguish the differences and come to terms with my "status". This is not to say that I am not proud of my time in the Army and the National Guard. I am. I worked with great people, learned a lot and will maintain memories of those days forever. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of someone or something that took place at Basic, AIT or Ft. Hood. The friends from those days are my friends for life. The lessons that I learned as a young soldier still help me today. I am better for it. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything.
Today I have quietly watched as my friends from the Army have changed their profile pics to a Class A photo or BDU pic from a time that has gone by all to quickly. I see us thanking each other for our past or present service to our country and watch as we post our humble responses, if any at all. I see pride in what we all did individually and collectively regardless of the decade. While I think it is great to see all the posts from people reminding us about Veteran's Day, I only feel compelled to read, comment or "like" my friends posts that have been in uniform.
My Facebook status today was for my friends. For the ones that did something that bigger than themselves. I am tremendously proud of each of you.
Too my friends and family that are Combat Veterans, I can only say thank you and know that you are held in high regard. You are my heroes.
At the end of the day, I will probably hesitate to raise my hand in a room when asked if there are Veterans in the crowd, but I am a Veteran. And proud of it.
There it is, my feelings about Veterans Day in a nutshell. I got a lot off of my mind by writing this but I also got choked up reading my own words. I got some great responses from friends, like these:
Chris Baird <applause>
Frank Garza You put this into perspective for all of us Andrew!! Thanks!
But my favorite and the most powerful statement came from my great friend and co-worker Tammy:
Tammy Heilman Regardless of any deployment status, you were there, you wore the uniform, and had already pledged an oath to sacrifice your life in order to preserve the American way. I have no doubt what-so-ever that had you been called upon during your years of service, you would have not hesitated to perform your duties. You're willingness to do so is what makes you a veteran. Never sell yourself short. Thank you for serving.
She called me to the carpet on this one. And I will always remember her response to my posting. She's right, I would have. I just never thought of it that way.
So as my emotionally charged day was ending (some of these comments made me tear up), I had one more statement to make:
My last but biggest thanks of the day go to my Dad. He served almost 40 yrs in the Guard & @ 70 yrs old, he still leads the 21 gun salute @ local ceremonies.
Due to an issue with my phone, I could not post as much as I wanted to, so I had to comment on my own posting to finish my thoughts:
My father is the embodiment of a soldier. Helping, training, working hard and doing it all with a smile on his face. He has an immense love for our country and has done more than his share. Today, he still fits his Class A's, still barks out the firing squad orders and still commands my respect and admiration. Thanks Dad.
(I still try to well up when I read this)
What amazed me was the response to this. 26 people read and "liked" this post. It is not quite clear to me why they liked it. Did they like what I had posted? Or did they "like" my dad for his service and sacrifice to our country? I will choose the latter.
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