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Thread: What is a Veteran
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06-25-08, 08:07 PM #1
What is a Veteran
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in his eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnal in the leg-or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forget in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
You can't tell a Veteran just by looking.
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers
didn't run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber then five wooden planks, whose overgrown fratboy behavior is outweighed in the cosmic scales by four hours exquisite bravery near the 38th parrallel.
She -or he- is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another- or didn't come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat- but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into U.S.Marines, and teaching them to watch each others backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnairs who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose
presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the momory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket- palsied now and
aggravatingly slow- who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being- a person who
offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so other would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. its is the soldies, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. it is the soldier, not the campus organizer,Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. its is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor
to burn the flag.:
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.
SgtHermogenesm
Blinded Marine Veteran
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06-25-08, 08:17 PM #2
Thanks Hermo,you struck home....
SEMPER FI my brother.
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06-25-08, 09:27 PM #3
WOW!!
Thanks , My Brother!!
Semper Fidelis
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06-26-08, 02:07 PM #4
No finer words have ever been written. Thank you, Brother.
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06-26-08, 06:12 PM #5
Semper-Fi.that made my day a little better.Ron 68
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06-26-08, 07:59 PM #6
I choked a little,,,,,,,, And a lot. But you know???/ The world don't care. It's just us. I Love all you Bros. Semper Fi.
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06-26-08, 08:02 PM #7
BACK AT YA SPARK.........
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06-26-08, 08:04 PM #8
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06-26-08, 11:06 PM #9
Veteran An American Warrior
STRENGTH, HONOR, PRIDE, DEVOTION.
To be an American Warrior is to have Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Strength. A Warrior must be prepared to overpower the enemy and face death head-on.
We honor our Veterans for their bravery and because by seeing death on the battlefield, they truly know the greatness of life.
American Warriors Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen have fought heroically in all of this century's wars and armed conflicts. They have not only been formally recognized for their bravery through military decoration but through anecdotal obervation as well.
The real secret which makes the American Warriors such an outstanding Warrior is his enthusiasm to fight.
More important, however, is the Warrior's Spiritual Strength. Many American traditional cultures recognize that War disrupts the natural order of life and causes a spiritual disharmony. To survive the chaos of
War is to gain a more intimate knowledge of life. Therefore, Military Service is a unigue way to develop an inner Strength that is valued in
American Society.
Having a strong sense of inner Spirituality is also a part of the American Warriors character. Many American Warriors are raised rural or remote USA an in environment that fosters self-reliance, introspection, and meditative way of thinking. these character traits can be very beneficial when adapting to the occasional isolation of military life in times of both Peace and War.
Wisdom as used in this context, means the sum total of formal learning and worldly experiences.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.
Semper-Fi
Sgthermogenesm
Blinded Marine Veteran.
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06-26-08, 11:19 PM #10
Sgt. Marrero, I salute you!! Your words made these old eyes sweat. I can only hope that I acquire some wisdom to pass on to my nephew that just began his journey to become a Marine. Unless I am a terrible judge of strengh and character, he will earn his Eagle, Globe and Anchor on 9/12/08.
With your permission, I want to copy and paste your two posts in a letter to my nephew.
Semper Fidelis, Marine! And thank you for your service to our Country!
Ed
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06-27-08, 06:27 PM #11
A Marine Hero
I new one of those men you talk about, a Marine who could not hold rank. Every time he got a stripe, soon after he was busted. Often he would
disobey orders, he got out of the Marine Corps as a Pvt. in 1970. But before he got out he disobeyed his last order, and in doing so he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The Marine Corps gave him a Pfc stripe because it look better. He got the MOH after he was out at the Whitehouse. Many Marines said that he drank way to much, and so do I,
but he was one hell of a nice guy and he loved his Marines. One day on the 31 of Jan 1970 he was a Hero and Marine. His name was Raymond Mike Clausen Jr. Miss You Mike.
Bruce
http://wallofhonor.bravehost.com
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06-27-08, 08:33 PM #12
THE CEREMONIES THAT HONOR OUR AMERICAN WARRIORS CREATE A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. SO AMERICAN WARRIORS DO NOT FEAR DEATH, BUT RATHER REGARD IT AS THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THEIR OWN AND THEIR COUNTRY. WE WILL NEVER FOREGET YOU. SEMPER-FI MARINE FIRST CLASS RAYMOND MIKE CLAUSEN JR.
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06-27-08, 09:33 PM #13
IT WILL BE A GRAND REUNION SOMEDAY
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06-28-08, 02:26 PM #14
Semper Fi Marines and thank you all.
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06-28-08, 09:32 PM #15
For WWII, Korea, and the Nam Vets...Before You Go
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