I'm Just Sayin'!

   "On Veterans Day--and Everyday--We Say Thank YOU!"

                          “I’m Just Sayin’”

                                                                 by Alan P. Scaglione

Today is Veterans Day!

A day when we as a nation pause…
Tip our hats, open our hearts and say…
THANK YOU!
To every service person who has served our country…
Whether it’s Iraq, Afghanistan, Desert Storm, Korea, WWII or Viet Nam!
They took a turn on watch as they protected our Freedom.
A freedom so many exercised last Tuesday—to vote!
To express your opinion, your view, your passion, your voice…
In line after line, waiting up to 4 hours… all because FREEDOM is OURS!
And that’s all because… a service person took their tour and… protected it for us!
And for that… for their service… we humbly say Thank You!

I saw a video this week that really touched me…
There was a coffee shop, a sixty something man sitting at the counter…
He had a tattoo on his arm that showed he served in Viet Nam.
A young soldier comes in, wearing his camouflage uniform, work detail, to get a cup of coffee.
The older guy looks at him, nods and says “thank you for your service.”
The young soldier says “thank you for your support.”
The young soldier goes to sit down at a table and a little boy approaches him and says “you are a hero! May I take a picture with you?”
He obliges.
The Viet Nam vet hears this and just shakes his head while drinking his coffee.
All of a sudden, the little boy and his mom are up at the counter.
The little boy asks the man “Are you a hero?”
“Why do you ask?” said the Viet Nam vet.
“That soldier said you are a hero too!”

That just grabbed my heart!

I remember the Viet Nam war—my brother Joe was drafted but rejected because he was – too thin!

6ft 1in and 110 pounds—definitely!!!
He protested the War! He even went to Washington, DC for a march on Washington.
I remember the upheaval our home felt over Joe’s protests—our Papa was a WWII vet, having served in Europe.
I only saw and heard the protests of the Viet Nam War.
Until I grew up and started meeting the Soldiers of that War.
I worked with some at IBM—and all of them seemed to have a sadness about them.
I got to talk about the war to one of them once—we called him T.K.
He said, “the world blamed us for a war we never started—I was just doing my duty—doing what I was told! I was 18 years old—what did I know?”
And then he walked away. Said he didn’t want to talk about it again—EVER!

Viet Nam-- The only war vets who came home without a Hero’s Welcome!

That was a sad period in our history—they deserved to be thanked for their service to our country.

We’ve learned a lesson from that!

And now…Iraq and Afghanistan—the veterans of these recent wars are coming home!

They will need our help adjusting to life back home, after their tour of duty.
We as a nation must stand up for them—serve each of them—with gratitude, respect, honor!

The Word says “Give honor to whom Honor is due!” Romans 13:7

Our soldiers… ALL of our soldiers… are HEROES in our eyes and we give them HONOR!

So Today—if you know a soldier, past or present, Salute them with a “Thank you for your service!”
And if… you have lost a soldier… we pause and collectively show our respect and say to you “Thank you for the service they so freely provided!”

Honor to whom honor is due!

I pause and remember my Papa—his service during WWII—he was honored to serve his country.

For the freedoms we hold so dear and sometimes, seem to take for granted—like standing in lines to vote our conscience…

We gratefully say THANK YOU!

Until Next Time

I’m Just Sayin’…

Brother “A”

SELECT the link BELOW!   SEND me Email!   Share your thoughts!
Share your Veteran memories