Super Dave
07-07-04, 04:35 PM
A guy gets time to think over here and I was thinking about all the support
we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care packages at
times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes of toiletries
and snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity has been amazing.
So I was pondering the question: "why do we have so much support?"
In my opinion, it came down to one thing. Vietnam. I think we learned the
lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support the troops who
are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them so poorly back
then. When they returned was even worse. The stories are nightmarish of
what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a national scar, a
blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.
After Vietnam, it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
consciousness grew. It shamed us.
However, we learned from our mistake. Somewhere during the late 70's and
into the 80's we realized that we can't treat our warriors that way. So,
starting during the Gulf War, when the first real opportunity arose to stand
up and support the troops we did. We did it to support our friends and
family going off to war. But we also did it to right the wrongs from the
Vietnam era. We treated our troops like the heroes they were, acknowledged
and celebrated their sacrifice, and rejoiced at their homecoming, instead of
spitting on them.
And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq. Our country knows
that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in Vietnam and
we are better because of it.
Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart. I
think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who fought
to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve with here in
Iraq; they have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom.
But when I get back, I'm going to make it a personal mission to specifically
thank every Vietnam Vet I encounter for their sacrifice. Because if nothing
else good came from that terrible war, one thing did. It was the lesson
learned on how we treat our warriors. We as a country learned from our
mistake and now treat our warriors as heroes, as we should. I am the
benefactor of their sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans
from other wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow
Marines and I. We are the benefactors of their sacrifice.
Semper Fidelis,
Major Brian P. Bresnahan
United States Marine Corps
we get from home. Sometimes it's overwhelming. We get care packages at
times faster than we can use them. There are boxes and boxes of toiletries
and snacks lining the center of every tent; the generosity has been amazing.
So I was pondering the question: "why do we have so much support?"
In my opinion, it came down to one thing. Vietnam. I think we learned the
lesson, as a nation, that no matter what, you have to support the troops who
are on the line, who are risking everything. We treated them so poorly back
then. When they returned was even worse. The stories are nightmarish of
what our returning warriors were subjected to. It is a national scar, a
blemish on our country, an embarrassment to all of us.
After Vietnam, it had time to sink in. The guilt in our collective
consciousness grew. It shamed us.
However, we learned from our mistake. Somewhere during the late 70's and
into the 80's we realized that we can't treat our warriors that way. So,
starting during the Gulf War, when the first real opportunity arose to stand
up and support the troops we did. We did it to support our friends and
family going off to war. But we also did it to right the wrongs from the
Vietnam era. We treated our troops like the heroes they were, acknowledged
and celebrated their sacrifice, and rejoiced at their homecoming, instead of
spitting on them.
And that support continues today for those of us in Iraq. Our country knows
that it must support us and it does. The lesson was learned in Vietnam and
we are better because of it.
Everyone who has gone before is a hero. They are celebrated in my heart. I
think admirably of all those who have gone before me. From those who fought
to establish this country in the late 1770's to those I serve with here in
Iraq; they have all sacrificed to ensure our freedom.
But when I get back, I'm going to make it a personal mission to specifically
thank every Vietnam Vet I encounter for their sacrifice. Because if nothing
else good came from that terrible war, one thing did. It was the lesson
learned on how we treat our warriors. We as a country learned from our
mistake and now treat our warriors as heroes, as we should. I am the
benefactor of their sacrifice. Not only for the freedom they, like veterans
from other wars, ensured, but for how well our country now treats my fellow
Marines and I. We are the benefactors of their sacrifice.
Semper Fidelis,
Major Brian P. Bresnahan
United States Marine Corps