Memorial Day

Back in the 1950s there was a TV entertainer named George Goble (see this Wikiapedia link). During an interview he was asked if he served in World War II and he answered yes I was pilot. The audience applauded.

When asked what he flew, he replied, C-47s and the audience applauded again. When asked where he was stationed, he replied, Omaha, and the audience laughed. He gave his trademark long pause and stared at the audience, then replied, “That’s where they sent me”.

Some served in combat, some as clerks, some in the reserves but all veterans have this in common, they served where their branch of the military sent them.

As a Viet Nam veteran, I have a common bond with all veterans; we put our name in the hat and took the luck of the draw. Each of us was willing to put aside our own lives for some period of time to support and protect our country. However dramatic or humble the service, that willingness is what I believe we honor on each Memorial Day.

In an unbroken tradition that stretches from the Revolutionary War to Iraq the women and men of our armed services have put themselves at greater or lesser risk for their extended family – the United States of America!