A Tribute to Our Veterans

I have never had the privilege of wearing the uniform of the United States military.  I’ve never been to war; never had to pack a bag, kiss my wife and children good-bye, and head off to another side of the world to defend my country.  I’ve never faced an enemy determined to kill me, nor have I held a friend as the life drained out of his body on the field of battle.  I can’t begin to understand the pain of a parent whose child is killed in action, or the confused anguish of a toddler whose father will never come home. I know nothing of war.  What I do know is that today, nearly 100 years and 10 wars after the end of the War to End All Wars, our nation owes our veterans a debt we will never be able to repay.

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of listening to Lt. George Bridgeman talk about some of his experiences as the pilot of a B-24 bomber during WWII.  In less than one year, Lt. Bridgeman went from a simple enlisted man who had never been up in an airplane to the pilot in command of a four engine, 5,000 horsepower aircraft with a crew of seven men.  He flew 35 missions through thick anti-aircraft fire, German fighter planes and cabin temperatures that reached 30 below zero.  He was 18 years old at the time.  As I listened to Lt. Bridgeman, now 90 years old, I thought of my father, who also served two and a half years in China, Burma and India during WWII as a member of the “Flying Tigers” of the Army Air Corps.  I also thought of my uncle, Manuel “Junior” Artimez, who was wounded in battle in Europe, and dealt with the pain of that injury for the rest of his life.  Like so many others from our area, these men, who were barely more than boys when they enlisted, left their homes and their families for years at a time for one purpose:  to defend their country.  The sacrifices they made, and the sacrifices made by the 21 million other veterans throughout the United States, are simply beyond my comprehension.  I can’t imagine living every minute of every day knowing that somewhere just over that next hill, somewhere just down the road, is an enemy soldier waiting to kill me.  Melodramatic?  Not for a veteran.  For a veteran, that was LIFE. 

Our veterans have defended our freedom 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.  They ask precious little in return, save perhaps for the gratitude of those who enjoy the freedom they have fought and died to protect.  Today, many of us will go out of our way to say “thank you” to a veteran.  It seems to me that simply speaking the words is not enough.  President John F. Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them.”  To live those words means to treat our veterans with dignity, respect, and admiration, not only on Veterans Day or Memorial Day, but on every single day of the year.  We can start by making sure our veterans are properly cared for once they leave the service.  It is a national shame that there are still veterans in our country who are homeless or without access to affordable medical care. 

The price of freedom is high, but it is a price our veterans were willing to pay.  Whether on the beaches of Normandy, the jungles of Vietnam or the mountains of Afghanistan, the call to defend our nation has never gone unanswered.  We all know how much we owe the men and women who have served our country.  We understand the enormous debt that can never be repaid.  At the very least, we must ensure that the gratitude and respect of our nation will last forever. 

To all area veterans and their families:  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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