EggXpert

I had to take my 84 year old dad to the hospital outpatient rehab.  I had previously thought how I have enough trouble walking and I had to try to hang on to my father.

We had a short wait before my father's appointment.  I saw a young man come down the hall and out the door.  He looked to be in his mid-late 20's.  He had on a desert camo T-shirt and shorts.  I could plainly see his prosthetic leg (knee down).  He was walking with a cane but was walking pretty good.  It only took a few moments before it dawned on (even) me that this young man was a veteran.  Then I smiled at him and gave him a nod and he gave me a nod back. 

Back to my dad.  He fought in WWII as part of the 5th Army through Northern Africa and up Italy.  As long as I've been alive, he's had night terrors.  Never wanted to talk about the war.

I'm ashamed to have ever felt sorry for myself.  

We owe not just gratitude but our support to veterans of all wars.  

 

 

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

Amazing.

So much goes on in the minds of people it is beyond any level of comprehension. The least we can do is show compassion and appreciation, because understanding what they went through is nearly impossible. 

Even when wars are fought over issues not everyone agrees with, soldiers put their lives on the line to do it for the good of their people (and country).

Slmclarengt

My company has a huge percentage of employees who are vets or still enrolled somehow (reserve, guard, etc), but we don't get Veteran's Day off. Is it just me, or does this seem pretty effed up to anyone else? Yes, let's honor our vets by making them work. What BS!

Here's to my Dad (85) who spent Christmas 1944 in the 75th Infantry Division lugging around a bazooka in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and has a Purple Heart to show for it.   The Battle of the Bulge was fought by over 800,000 Allied troops with over 89,500 casualties including 19,000 killed and 23,000 missing and was the single largest and bloodiest battle that American forces experienced in World War II.   It was so cold that year that my dad got frostbite and lost half his toes to gangrene.  He remains the most patriotic American I know.