Veteran's Day

For those of you who have known me for a while, you know that I've always felt comfortable speaking my mind.  I'm sure I've said some things that many have liked and I know for a fact I've said things that some haven't liked, but isn't it great that we live in a country where we can do that?

The first letter to the editor I ever wrote in my life was when I was in the 4th grade.  Here in Marshall the Chamber of Commerce/City Office building, at that time, was located just to the east of where the post office is now.  There was a flagpole at the front entrance of the building, but there was no light on the flag.  At night, that poor flag looked so lonely up there flapping in the wind.  We were studying proper etiquette for displaying the American flag and when I learned that there was to be a light shining on the flag at night, I was appalled that our own city government was showing such disregard to the great emblem of our country. 

I wrote a letter to the editor in our local paper, The Marshall Democrat News, raising my concern over the lack of respect that was being shown to our flag by our city government.  I'm sure it was a total oversight and I know that it wasn't an intentional lack of disregard as well, but never the less, there should still be a light on the flag.  The evening after my letter was published, there was a light on the flag.

The next letter to the editor that I had published was when I was in the 5th grade.  We were all asked to write about a hero and a certain number of those would be published in the paper.  I wrote about my grandpa, George Simmons.  I didn't write about him being my hero because he was my grandpa, I wrote about him being my hero because he was a veteran.  My grandpa joined the military in the early 40's and discharged from the Air Force in the late 60's, after a little over 25 years of service to our country.  He was stationed in numerous places during the wars, Germany, Italy, Japan, and so many other places.  He was away from his family for long periods of time, leaving my grandma to raise their two kids and make due with what little bit they had.  My grandfather received a purple heart, and several other awards, but we never really heard him discuss much about his time in the service.

We are so blessed to live in a place where we can have different opinions, and we can express those opinions, without fear that the government is going to come and arrest us just because we don't agree with them.  We are so blessed to live in a  place where we can attend our place of worship and serve our Creator, without fear that we're going to be persecuted by the government for what we believe.  Even with all of it's problems, discouraging news reports and alarming statistics, The United States of America is the greatest country on Earth; and it's because of our veterans that it is what it is today.

I've never served in the military, and can't begin to imagine what it must be like to be taken away from your family, friends, home, job, everything you know as normal and be sent to some far off land to help defend freedom.  I can't understand what it's like to walk out into a battlefield and not now if you'll be coming back in the same way you went out or if you'll be shot, captured, or killed.  That's just something that a soldier can only know.

To every single one of our veterans, past and present, the words thank you are so inadequate.  You are all making sacrifices that can't be comprehended by people like me who have never had to make that sacrifice and I just don't know how to say thanks.  But, just know this much, each time I look at that American flag flying high in the sky with it's stars and stripes whipping in the wind, I remind myself that my opinions, and my right to express those opinions, have cost more than I could ever imagine.  Whether we agree or disagree with each other, whether we're republican or democrat, whether we're of the same faith, regardless of our race; the freedom that we have has come at a high price for so many and on this veterans day, November 11, 2011 we salute each and every one of you.

God bless all of our veterans and service men and women and we continually pray, God Bless the USA.