MPSIMS doesn’t seem quite like the place to put this, but I can’t think of any other place where this might go…
Tomorrow (from my perspective here in Korea) is Memorial Day in America. And I just finished watching “Saving Private Ryan” on TV. Which has left me feeling a bit sentimental…
So, a note to all of you who are serving your countries in the defense of democracy and freedom:
Thank you.
That doesn’t seem like enough, but what more can I say? Thank you for your sacrifices and your service. I, and many others who have benefited from your labor and dedication to an ideal that we all hold dear, are deeply indebted to you for your service, and far too often you are taken for granted and not given the respect that you deserve and have earned.
There’s nothing that I can think of that we can do to repay you, so all I can offer is my sincere thanks and respect for what you have done/are doing.
BTW: I know it’s not Memorial Day in the States, but it IS Memorial Day here in Korea (which just happens to co-incide with the anniversary of the D-Day invasion)…
I agree with you. Thank you for taking the time to honor those who paid such a terrible price for us. It’s sadly all too often only a 3 day weekend with a BBQ.
This isn’t going to come out right - I don’t know how to express it properly… oh well…
First off - I am a veteran, married to a veteran, daughter of a vet… Having spent some years in uniform, I am intimately familiar with the sacrifices service personnel make as a matter of course.
However, why, lately, do people seem to be falling over themselves to toss rose petals at the feet of vets? And why three times a year: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day? Is this an overcompensation for the Vietnam ear protests? Is it fashion? Is it the guilt of those who never served?
Memorial Day is now the “unofficial” start of summer - does anyone know when and why it was originally designated? Veterans Day is just another day off for Federal workers, a day of parades in the cold, and an excuse for assorted hokey furniture (or whatever) sales. July 4th is just one big party… which, in reality, is pretty much how John Adams envisioned it, isn’t it? But it’s about more than veterans… I digress.
I see columns in the paper and I get spammed with syrupy “tributes” and I just want to scream “STOP IT!!” You want to show your appreciation to the armed services? How about encouraging your kids to consider a tour or two? How about considering it yourself, if you’re of age? Personally, I think all able-bodies citizens ought to feel an obligation to serve, ought to have a desire to protect and defend their home. I was stuck in the airport in Atlanta for 6 hours last month, and I saw a number of people in uniform heading thither and yon. They all looked so young - and therein lies the defense of our nation. They don’t need parades. They need equipment that works and spare parts and decent places to live and leadership that is interested in defense, not politics.
Sorry, Astroboy14, - I shouldn’t have hijacked your thread. I have all kinds of admiration for those who serve - I know they deserve better than they get in many cases.
Well I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but for me: #1) Vets deserve it.
#2) I live in S. Korea, where protests against America (my home country, which I love) are rampant… and while I agree that they (Korean protest participants) have a right to express their opinions, I REALLY wish that their opinions were based on fact! Most of the reasons for their protests against America boil down to nothing more than misinformation/disinformation/purposeful misunderstandings/cultural differences/it’s warm outside and I don’t wanna go to class! [sup]and I wish they would do it downwind of me, tear gas is VERY unpleasant, as I have discovered a few times…[/sup] I once was asked, by the university’s English-language student magazine, to proofread some articles… one of the articles was about how unfair the SOFA agreement between the ROK and the US was. As evidence, the writer had related a story about a US soldier who had murdered a Korean bar-girl, and had been turned over to the US military for trial. The implication was that the soldier was turned over to the US military, and sent home with no punishment at all… I asked the writer if she knew what had happened to the soldier accused of the murder. She didn’t know, or CARE. She just assumed that he had gotten away scot-free and gone home. And she had no interest in investigating any further. (if I recall correctly, the soldier in question was arrested by the miltary police, held by the US a few days until the Korean AND American military police had investigated the crime and concluded that he, very likely, HAD done it, then was turned over to the Korean authorities… he is currently serving a long sentence in a Korean prison… not as pleasant a place to be as a US prison!)
#3) As I said, I live in S. Korea… English-language books are hard to come by here… so after I finished all of the novels I could easily lay my hands on (I am an avid reader), I was forced to turn to classics and historical volumes… I realized that WW2 changed EVERYTHING, and thank God WE won!!
When I have some, if I have some, I will! I wish I had joined the military immediately after high school… it would have done me a world of good, and saved me from making a LOT of mistakes that I made… I had to learn discipline the hard way… 'nuff said there!
I did, a few years ago when things were not going so well… I was too old and too fat (I kinda knew that going in, but I thought I’d try…)
Agreed… but when I was 18, I didn’t agree… I was an idiot then. Like I’m NOT an idiot now:rolleyes:!
Regarding the reason for my interest in veterans, I can’t explain more than that… but I may have been too influenced by Tom Brokaw and his “Greatest Generation” stuff… unfortunately, I believe it…
Maybe it’s in compensation for the fact that I did NOT offer to serve my country… I dunno…
Astroboy, I didn’t mean for my comments to be an attack on you… I was rambling - trying to figure out why I react the way I do. Believe me when I said “you”, I didn’t mean you - ya know?? I was preaching to the great unwashed masses that have no idea this forum exists… I was talking to “them”… Please believe that I wasn’t taking aim at anyone, most especially not you.
I am very sorry if it come across otherwise. I shall now go sit in the corner and try not to be an idiot.
FairyChatMom,
I understand what you’re saying, and I agree that flowery editorials may not be the best way of memorializing those that have sacrificed for our country. I suggest taking those weepy type stories in the spirit in which they are likely intended, which is probably gratitude.
I personally am VERY grateful for the work and sacrifice that servicemen and servicewoman make for the US, and have expressed that to many an enlisted person. Some people express this by making a big deal out if it and writing flowery poems. Actually, here’s some of one example:
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Although Major John McCrae wrote those words after seeing firsthand the suffering of the wounded and the unending dead in World War 1. I don’t find it improbable that others can feel empathise with the pain he and others felt from the pain of war and the sacrifice of serving. Some people put out flags in memory or gratitude, some people write poetry, and some people fall over themselves trying to do the right thing to honor vets.
I wonder what would be appropriate to you? (and I don’t mean that as a challenge, I really am curious).
You say:
I am too young to remember Vietnam, but I am apalled that Vets were/are treated the way they were. I have thanked many a Vietnam vet because I truly feel awful for how they were treated and I genuinely appreciate the trauma that many went through during that time.
Surely you know this isn’t possible for everyone. For myself, I have a disabilty that prevents it (and I seriously looked into the Air Force, which rejected me on that basis at the time). Not everyone is able to join the armed forces- does this prevent us from thanking the people that do and appreciating their efforts? I don’t think it does. Also, I am reasonably sure that many parents encourage their children to join the armed forces.
In summary, I can understand why things like “Veterans Day 50% off Day at Sears” pisses people off, I really can. But I think that genuine tributes to Vets should be interpreted in the best possible light, and one should not assume insincerity where there might actually be pain. I also think that the recent awareness and outpouring of support to Vets is because of the visual impact of movies such as “Saving Private Ryan”, “Born on the Fourth of July”, “Pearl Harbor” and the like. Many people, myself included, have never seen exactly what war may have been like or what Vets often go through. Seeing movies that portray the horror that is war often opens up eyes and hearts and heightens awareness. I think that’s a good thing.