Veterans Day, 2014

In the quiet of a cold night, men and women keep watch

Below the waves and beneath the stars they stand vigil

In the heat of a sweltering summer day they serve

From the Artic Circle to remote islands

From grand parades to isolation

Our Veterans remind us

We are one

Under God

They serve

Wherever sent

Fear and courage both

Friendships and families each

They learn to trust, they grow older

Some do not see the end and are remembered

For most it is a transition to another life, full and rich

But service to our common good - binds us all in solid bond

Fields

The fields are quiet now, filled with the colors of fall and the remembrances’ of summer.  They are wide and vast, narrow and rocky, or covered with sand and dust.   They may be in Mexico,  or Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.  They can be found in France, Germany, Norway, North Africa, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or a hundred other places.

On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month we pause to remember the sacrifices made on our behalf by a group of youth, for that is what they always are, so that the youngest, the oldest, the weakest and the rest of us can live our lives and continue our society. 

Politicians will speak of their bravery, their ideals, and their sacrifice for the nation. These young men and woman did not always have a choice, but when the order was given they did their best, and for too many gave their lives for their friends and  companions, and in turn their nation. 

Not all died in the grit of battle.  Oh so many have come home bearing both the outward and inner scars of combat.  We see them among us today.  Sometimes, in the past, we have meanly cast them aside, for they serve as a painful reminder of something we would choose to forget.  Other times we had thought a parade was enough.  It seems now we are learning, ever so slowly, we are not so different than them, if we are to heal we must support them as they again become us.  We remember our Veterans on this November day, as other Western nations remember theirs.

I hope someday we will only remember the soldiers, sailors, airman and marines of generations long ago, for we will have found a way to put war behind us.  Sadly for me,  I’ll not be here to remember those ancient times.

To the men I have flown with into harms way, to the brothers I left in Iran, the men and woman who shared our conflict in Iraq, and for those today who carry the shield of our nation to wherever the President sends them, I offer my thanks, my prayers and my loyalty.  You will forever be remembered for your courage and your sacrifice; you will not be forgotten.

Service

This nation has always had people who put service to others as a priority.  It is, I think, what lead John Fitzgerald Kennedy to say “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”  We forget this special trait breed into us, especially in the stress of a contentious election.

Whether it was the citizen soldiers who came together to defend their homes and families on the frontiers of the colonies or those in todays world where we've asked so many to serve in the far corners of the world after 9/11.

In times of conflict there have always been those who’ve stepped forward and said send me.  This weekend we as a nation will pause for a moment to remember the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters that have had to courage to face their fear and continue on to defend the rights we hold dear.

In the 1960’s our opposition to a war lead to us ostracizing the young men that were selected to fight it.  We have come a long way as we’ve matured and come to understand you can oppose a war, but the men and women who serve our nation should not be blamed for the decisions of our politicians’ who decide to send them into harm’s way.

Please take a moment on Sunday, at 11am, to pause from your activities and remember the sacrifices asked of our young men and women, and their families.  If you believe in a loving God, please ask for his mercy and guidance that we may someday find a way where war is no longer a potential, where all humans are viewed as equal, and power and authority are earned, not taken.

This video is not romantic, it is hot heroic, and certainly is not intended to depict war as a glorious adventure.  I include it so you have a small sense of what we ask of our soldiers, sailors, airman and marines, and why they deserve our respect and gratitude.

Thank you.