Met a Real Hero
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As I got to feeling better during my admission to the VA this week I started walking the wards attached to my IV on wheels. I came across a vet being wheeled in
for admission who appeared to be around my age, but in worse shape. He had a cap on that identified him as US Army and Silver Star on it with the proper colors
for the ribbon attached to a Silver Star for Valor. After he settled in I went to his room to introduce myself and he was indeed a fellow Vietnam Vet. What makes
this unusual is that he was African American and truthfully it was rare that during that time in our country that an AA would be awarded a Silver Star. Whatever he had done
to earn his had to be absolutely extraordinary, but I did not want to be so intrusive as to ask what he had done. But I knew that he would be aware that I knew exactly what it
took for him to receive it. There had to be multiple eyewitness accounts from fellow soldiers in his unit as to what he had done so very far above the call of duty that they
would want him recognized. I would also guess that he saved many of their lives in the process at the risk of his own. It was a privilege to thank him and shake his hand.
It helps me remember there are still real American heroes out there. God bless them all.
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I love to go out to dinner on veteran's day. Not just for the free meal, but to be around the older guys,
not many WWII left, but Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, etc etc. It's such an honor to be around those guys.
The one time Dad (who was in the Navy) and another older Navy guy talked while waiting in line - he served on an aircraft carrier,
and told my Dad he wishes he could have run one of those small personnel landing craft. A good bit of a wait, but being around those older vets is priceless.
We never have allowed hunting. But my friend and CCW instructor, 4.5 years special forces... just amazing to be around him - only told me a few stories and I don't ask. But he is totally allowed to hunt all deer season in our woods anytime.
Right now, I am reading "The Greatest Generation Speaks"... a sequel to "The Greatest Generation".
OMG. so many stories of extraordinary courage, loss, heartbreak... it is an AMAZING book by Tom Brokaw
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I love to go out to dinner on veteran's day. Not just for the free meal, but to be around the older guys,
not many WWII left, but Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, etc etc. It's such an honor to be around those guys.
The one time Dad (who was in the Navy) and another older Navy guy talked while waiting in line - he served on an aircraft carrier,
and told my Dad he wishes he could have run one of those small personnel landing craft. A good bit of a wait, but being around those older vets is priceless.
We never have allowed hunting. But my friend and CCW instructor, 4.5 years special forces... just amazing to be around him - only told me a few stories and I don't ask. But he is totally allowed to hunt all deer season in our woods anytime.
Right now, I am reading "The Greatest Generation Speaks"... a sequel to "The Greatest Generation".
OMG. so many stories of extraordinary courage, loss, heartbreak... it is an AMAZING book by Tom Brokaw
I love to go out to dinner on veteran's day. Not just for the free meal, but to be around the older guys,
not many WWII left, but Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, etc etc. It's such an honor to be around those guys.
The one time Dad (who was in the Navy) and another older Navy guy talked while waiting in line - he served on an aircraft carrier,
and told my Dad he wishes he could have run one of those small personnel landing craft. A good bit of a wait, but being around those older vets is priceless.
We never have allowed hunting. But my friend and CCW instructor, 4.5 years special forces... just amazing to be around him - only told me a few stories and I don't ask. But he is totally allowed to hunt all deer season in our woods anytime.
Right now, I am reading "The Greatest Generation Speaks"... a sequel to "The Greatest Generation".
OMG. so many stories of extraordinary courage, loss, heartbreak... it is an AMAZING book by Tom Brokaw
I am very fortunate to live in a subdivision surrounded by Sun City where a lot of retirees from Ft. hood reside. I get to encounter veterans every day whose caps or license plates speak volumes about the heroes among us and often the wheelchairs, walkers, walking canes and missing limbs speak even louder. And on the few occasions I end up in the VA hospital, I try to get out of my bed and move around the wards as soon as I am able so as to remind myself that I do not have it bad at all and also that the VA exists because Lincoln brought it into being for good reasons with his words in his second inaugural address during the Civil War when he asked Congress, "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and for his orphan."
BTW if anyone ever wants to be a part of it in a very personal way, volunteer services utilizes people to transport veterans from their hospital beds by wheelchair to various appointments within the hospital such as labs, radiology, medical specialists, etc. When transporting people around you learn a lot of their history and what they have given up for this country. It's an absolute honor to be a VA volunteer. I highly recommend to anyone living near a VA Hospital or even Outpatient Clinic.
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Two years ago, for the fun of it, we went to this hunting/fishing huge event - I called it a "redneck woodstock"...
redneck country folks everywhere. Thousands and thousands. lol
My Wife was waiting in line for the portapotti, and I walked across the lane, and there was a guy sitting on the park bench next to a both. His daughter and son-in-law ran the booth. He was just hanging out whittling. Had a U.S. Marines baseball hat on. His veteran's story was amazing. Korean War, lost several friends. He ended up working with the Secret Service, at the White House in the sixties. He said the day JFK got murdered, our country was hurt and never been quite the same again. But he said of all the places he'd seen in his life, America was the one bright shining star. Amazing - the experiences he'd had. My Wife ended up sitting with us, listening. He was whittling a butterfly for his granddaughter. We thanked him for his service and the visit, and went on our way.
So many have given so much - in the book I mentioned, the hundreds of stories and letters of families and surviving veterans is a heartbreak. So many heroes.
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