IPFS News Link • General Opinion
Thank Them for What?
• LewRockwellThe owners of the veterinarian practice across the street from the Harley dealer are obviously more patriotic: They kept their "Thank You Veterans" sign up all the way to Thanksgiving.
Beginning on Veterans Day and running through Thanksgiving Day there have been stories on the news and during football games about the poor U.S. soldiers we should thank in Afghanistan and the Middle East who won't be home to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families.
Some churches had on Thanksgiving Day, or had the night before, special services in which the congregations were reminded from the pulpit to not forget to thank both veterans and the troops.
Thank them for what?
It is generally never said. Sometimes we are told that we should thank veterans and the troops for "their service." Other times we are told that we should thank veterans and the troops for "defending our freedoms." On other occasions we are told that we should thank veterans and the troops for fighting "over there" so we didn't/don't have to fight "over here." And still other times we are told that we should thank veterans and the troops for "keeping us safe."
But above all we are just bombarded with "Thank You Veterans" or "Thank You Soldiers."
1 Comments in Response to Thank Them for What?
I am a Veteran of the United States Army Signal Corps - an Honor Graduate at that. After SERVING 4 years in High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at West Phoenix High School at 19th Avenue and Thomas, I was admitted through the Delayed Entry Program. I say 'served' because of all the events I participated in during my time there. From collecting money for Gompers Rehabilitaion Center every year to instructing fellow students in First Aid, Desert Survival, and many many more. I graduated Battalion Executive Officer - second highest in my class. After Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training, I served as the Radio Telephone Operator for the 36th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) at Fort Polk, Louisiana. We not only did MedEvac missions that saved soldiers lives, we also did M.A.S.T. missions - Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic. Many times did I get calls from Highway Patrol when there was an accident on a back road that would take a ground ambulance 3 hours to get to, and we sent our Hueys to pick up injured civilians and get them quickly and safely to the hospital, saving many lives. In peacetime. On American soil. You may never know what that Uniformed person you see has done, or why they are in SERVICE TO YOU. Thank 'em ALL, if for no other reason than for what good they might have done for the planet. You never know. Ed Vallejo Proud PFC