Remember the Veterans and What Could Have Been

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - Today we remember our veterans, so Happy Veterans Day!

If being happy is hard, then let us simply remember and honor them. Those who survived and those who died.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a typical American. Are veterans in every family? I have many veterans in my family. The earliest I can find involved ancestors on my mother's side who fought for the Union in the Civil War. I think he was a general. Feel free to talk about the vets in your own family?

Beyond that I can identify at least one grandfather who fought for the Yankee Division under General Pershing in the First World War (see earlier Poppies post), uncles who fought in the Second World War, my father who served with Elvis after WWII and Korea, and finally my brother who served in Iraq and in the Navy Reserve today. They all deserve recognition for their sacrifices. Happy Veterans Day guys. I hope I speak for the whole family when I say that we honor you all.

It began as Armistice Day Sunday to honor those who died in World War One. In June 1954, President Eisenhower created Veterans Day to honor all veterans who fought for this great country. So, let us remember and honor those brave men and women who suffered for us through so many horrible wars.

They were just like us, but they were also different. They were the greater generations, and the Greatest Generation. We, their children and descendants, honor their sacrifice.

I would like to go one step further, and remember all the children and descendants that never were. The families that never existed. The lives that never got to happen. They are also the victims of war.

Let us remember them all. The soldiers who died, the veterans who lived, and lives that never got a chance to be. War tears humanity apart in so many ways. I only hope our nation has learned that it should always be the last, most desperate act.

Happy Veterans' Day - Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog