BUGG BYTES: HONORING THOSE WHO SERVE

Each and every November, we celebrate Veterans Day. While only a few remain who remember the end of the First World War, this day of remembrance has eventually found its rightful place in observance.

Veterans Day to some is a day off from work or a day out of school. To some, it may seem to be just another day. But to many veterans and their families, it is a day of honor and a day of remembrance. Thousands of veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and those veterans who never saw combat will recall a memory from their service dates on Veterans Day.

Some may recall a fellow soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Some may recall a family member who served during war, past and recent, who became injured or disabled or was killed in action. Each of these soldiers answered the call to serve, either voluntarily or by draft, but they answered the call and they left home to experience the unknown. Separation from family, husbands, wives, sons and daughters was tough, but in many cases, it was the easy part.

Combat situations, being taken prisoner, torture, and other atrocities that most of us cannot fathom in the deepest recesses of our minds are a reality to many and the final blow to their service and sacrifice, the government has and continues to cut their benefits leaving some at poverty level and unable to obtain health care (more often than not from injuries, disease and illness that is a direct result of service to their country).

Over the years, we have seen respect for our soldiers, disdain for our soldiers, hatred and love expressed for those who have entered the call. War has become a political referendum. Politicians and political parties use the word to promote their ideas and positions and hope that public opinion will support their respective positions.

As I see it, the bottom line is not whether you support the politics of war, but whether you support the soldiers in the field. While we may not agree with the war in Iraq or we may not understand why the US was in Vietnam, those decisions were made by the powers that be. If we don’t like the decision, we can vote another way the next time. Don’t blame the soldiers or their families.

I enjoy freedom each and every day. Freedom to worship with the religion of my choice, freedom to vote, freedom to bear arms, and freedom to express how I feel without repercussions. True, while my opinion may not be the most popular, I know that I can express my opinion without fear of arrest or even death.

No matter how many groups or individuals may attempt to take credit for, or claim to have promoted our freedoms, the soldier in the field is the one that has secured that freedom for us. The soldier in the war zone is the one taking the shots for us and even laying down his/her life for us so we can remain free.

Whatever freedoms we enjoy each and every day was bought and paid for with the blood of the American Soldier.  Whether it was in 1918 at the end of World War I, or September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attack on the United States or just yesterday in a bombing in Iraq, the American Soldier has paid the price.

This Veterans Day, remember the men and women who have America what it is whether serving at home or abroad and show honor and respect to their commitment and sacrifice. Thank a veteran for America, land of the free.