I have the opportunity to be surrounded by veterans for part of my week... It is a true privilege to listen to them tell their stories and to observe their behavior around each other.
There is a silent appreciation amongst them for what they have all done. I see it and it's impressive.
I think when you share an experience with someone there is a bond there. You can appreciate an experience but unless you have walked that walk you cannot truly understand it. I am more and more sure of that after some of the things I have experienced these past several years.
I listened to a man on Friday night who served two tours in Vietnam. He talked about what he did there. He talked about leaving his friends back home who did not have to go and he talked about coming back and being different and none of those friends understanding. He said he came back and ended up drinking a lot because that seemed to be the way to cope back then.
He expressed great concern about the men and women coming back now from the war...he wants them to be treated differently. At one point he stared off a bit as if he were remembering something...he got really quiet and then he said...they spit at me when I came back. They spit.
I touched his hand and I said I was so sorry. People do stupid things that I am sure they regret later. I said thank you for what you did and for what you gave up to do it. He shook his head, smiled a bit and said you are welcome...
This is a different time. I recently read a story about a group of volunteers out east who meet every flight coming and going to the war to thank the soldiers. What a fabulous thing they do...to say thank you. We need to do that every day but especially today.
Men and women who have served in the past and do serve today and their families deserve our thanks and support every single day. Because of them we have what we have. It's a gift I think most of us take for granted...and we shouldn't.
That gift of freedom has come at quite a price and we need to be thankful for that gift each and every day. And say so. Today is a good day to start.