Wednesday morning, for a few moments in time, I can honestly say I was in the presence of greatness. Surrounded and enveloped by it even, and it left me teary-eyed. Yet, if you asked the people I was with, they will tell you there is nothing great about them. In fact, one of their aspects of greatness is humility.
All of us have causes that are near and dear to us, and of course I have to admit it’s the same with me. I could list several, but for today I’ll talk about just one: our U.S. Veterans. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say I’m very passionate about our veterans. If anyone is the crème de la crème of our society, it is our veterans. As far as I am concerned, nothing is too good for them.
My military association is strong but nowhere near as strong as others. I believe I have shared it more than once, from my brother being in the army to my great-great-great grandfather fighting in the Civil War. My father received a Daughters of the Revolutionary War award in high school, so I would say my lineage continued further back than I may think.
With having that kind of legacy in my blood, I was raised to respect the military. I watched all sorts of war movies growing up with one of my father’s favorites being “The Green Berets.” That passion is in my blood. My father loved to pick with people, especially me, though when it came to respecting the military, there was nothing to pick about it.
Especially since the Vietnam War ended, our veterans have not received the respect they deserve. Politics should not matter. These men and women gave their time to fight so we can be free, and that should mean something great to everyone. To make any veteran feel inferior and put to shame because of their service is absolutely appalling.
Veterans Day is a really good example of how they can be mistreated. Federal offices were closed and there was no mail. The day is to honor the veterans, but how many veterans in the private sector still had to work; and how many non-veterans enjoyed the day off? All veterans, I think, should get the day off with pay, and if you are not a veteran you should be working so they can have a day off. The day is for them, not us.
I think about the lousy healthcare and benefits they receive, and that just breaks my heart. They deserve the very best. A veteran who had to miss portions of his/her marriage and children’s lives to protect us should not have to wait five hours to be seen at an outdated medical facility. They already had to wait weeks/months, maybe even years, to see their family. We expect our military to do their best to protect us, so they should receive the very best in healthcare and not what is left over or mediocre.
We talk about the greatest generation being those who served in World War II. While there are still some alive today, many of those veterans are now gone. I am very thankful that last year we were able to talk to many World War II veterans for our Profile stories. Each of their stories is important.
One thing I noticed at the Veterans’ program at the courthouse on Wednesday was there were very few young veterans in the crowd. One of reasons for their absence I already stated my opinion on, but I feel like the younger soldiers do not fully comprehend the importance of being honored and maybe even he/she does not want to relive what they had seen. Maybe they think because of what happened while they were serving, they do not believe they deserve to be honored. Our younger ones need to know they are important too. All veterans need to be honored whether they feel they did anything important or not.
It is my prayer that our younger veterans will join organizations like the V.F.W. and the American Legion. I know we have strong posts in our county for both entities. Joining allows for like-minded soldiers who experienced similar situations to come together and provides a relationship that can only be developed by serving in the armed forces.
While Veterans Day 2020 has already passed, I still want to thank each and every soldier who has ever served. In my opinion, we cannot do enough to let you know how much we appreciate you.
Susan Amundson is managing editor
of The Columbian-Progress. She
may be reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
