Recently over coffee and cookies, several conversations have come up around service to America. Many soldiers served in various capacities in the various branches of the United States Military. The cost of their service is and was high. Many were injured and lost. Families and local communities mourn those who live on in memory. Past and current gratitude for their services continue forever into the future.
One friend mentioned that in the summer of 2021, it was the first time he was thanked for serving in Viet Nam. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he felt about being thanked. He was more than willing to go when he was drafted. He was sad about the impossibility to recapture the lost months and years. He was terribly sad about lost fellow soldiers. He feels survivor’s guilt. The experiences while overseas are too difficult to remember in words.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
And then, his buddy at the table spoke up. This man was not drafted to serve in Viet Nam. He stayed home due to the efforts of the county deferment board. He stayed home and helped his dad and mom with the farm work.
“I appreciated that deferment. My folks couldn’t have done it without me helping them with the cows and the farming. Dad was sick and crippled up, and the work was hard on him. He died 2 years after the board granted me the deferment.”
“Even so, all my adult life, a part of me has felt bad about not serving in Viet Nam.”
Fast forward to 2022. Think of a young man. The dream of his life is to serve the United States of America as an Army Ranger. The process to achieve this dream is arduous, demanding, painful. It requires his time, discipline, dedication, commitment. It was worth it. He did it. His dream became reality in 2021.
Think of a young Kansas teacher during World War II. She watches her sweetheart board the train, waiving and blowing kisses as it moves down the track. They would marry when he returned. They had grand plans to raise a family and farm on the home place. When he doesn’t come home, she continues to teach. She loves her students in place of the children of her own she didn’t have. She helps a motherless girl go to school. The girl grows up, marries and raises a daughter who also becomes a school teacher. That teacher is humbled and honored to teach the Army Ranger, as well as children who are part of the Kansas rural communities.
Every single one of these people contributed to life in 2022 in America. The Viet Nam veteran, the deferment committee, the farmer who stayed home, his mom and dad, the school teachers and the Army Ranger. All are links in the chain of honorable lives. Together and alone, they matter.
These people are outstanding human beings. So are you. Yes, you. You are an important
and irreplaceable link in the lives of many people. Without you and your life, the world would never know the gift of YOU.
Know it and own it.
Thank you for making a positive difference. Thank you for being you.
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