Saying "Thanks for your service" isn't enough. It's something like saying "Have a nice day" to the check out person without even thinking about it. It is a throw away line that you say and often do not even look at the person. We all do it.
I think a much better thing to say to a veteran is "Thank you and your family for the sacrifice you made and continue to make" and actually look at the person.
The reasons I believe this is a better comment are many. The people who engaged in military service sacrificed a part of their life and were willing to put themselves in harms way. That is, to risk being killed and to learn how to kill others. This service left scars which are life long. Sometimes these scars are visible as in the burns left on the face of a veteran I saw recently. They were the visible limp my friend Kenny Dolan had from his war wounds or the shrapnel wound from my Uncle Don McKenna.
As terrible as these wounds were, the deeper longer lasting wounds most veterans carry reach even further. They can span another generation. These are the night terrors from the dreams of the screams, the explosions, and the fear of silence in the dark. These wounds are passed on to the spouses and children of those who served in combat. These wounds tear apart families and drive people to drink and drugs and despair.
The families carry the sacrifice. They try to console and understand that which cannot be turned into words. The families try to persevere, to maintain a normalcy which no longer exists for them. Spouses who worried, and cried, and took over all the family responsibilities while the veteran was deployed are wounded by the sacrifice. They don't get medals or parades or even a flag upon their death, but there is no doubt of their sacrifice.
We watch the news and read about the war in Ukraine and the missiles from North Korea and the threats to Taiwan. When we read do we think that we have soldiers and sailors on the doorstep of those countries? There are troops deployed to Poland on the border with Russia. Troops and their families are in South Korea and Japan. US Navy ships are deployed guarding the shipping lanes. All of these are combat trained military who have loved ones who live in a fear that battles will break out at anytime.
Wouldn't it be amazing if we gave the veterans and their family s a whole month of recognition? Not the two, three or four months we give to Christmas or Halloween, that wouldn't be any fun. Wouldn't it be great if we had a decoration to put on our houses that says "Thanks for to your sacrifice"? Some might say flying the American flag does this, but I think it has often become a decoration like a Cubs or Cardinal flag. It shows our loyalty but fails to recognize the individuals and families who sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for our ideals.
So I say don't make "Thanks for your service" a throw away line you use one day in November. Thank someone and his or her family for their sacrifice. They are worth a sincere moment of your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment