We hear the term “blood and treasure” a lot these days. I’m not sure when I first heard it on a news broadcast, but it has been used so much that I fear the general public is numb to its meaning.
My parents belonged to what Brokaw termed “the greatest generation”. My father’s friends flew over Normandy. Unaccepted into aviation because he wore glasses, he went to work at a defense plant and won awards for his ideas that saved the company tens of thousands of dollars.
I remember no war stories. Those men and women didn’t talk about their experiences in Europe or the Pacific. They kept their feelings inside and only their spouses and closest family members heard the muffled sounds of horrific dreams.
At eleven o’clock on November 11th, Armistice was signed ending World War I. Dubbed the “war to end all wars”, it didn’t live up to its moniker. There would be another World War and the continent of Europe would never be the same. An entire generation of young, patriotic Frenchmen died. The culture began to fracture with no elders to instill it in the children.
As you, hopefully, pause to remember those who died to keep us free, I ask you to say a prayer for all those who fight yet today to secure freedom — ours and foreigners who have never set foot on American soil.
Serving one’s country is a high calling. It beckons the patriotic to put aside the fortunes of the private sector and forego jobs with high salaries to toil in bitter cold or blistering heat… to go weeks without a warm meal… to endure the harshest physical punishment… And for what? No, not for what — for whom! For you.
Many restaurants offer free meals to active and retired military personnel today. Yet, there is something equally important that any one of us can do. We can stop and thank them when we see them on the street… in an airport, train depot, or bus station… in a public venue…. It’s the least we can do, considering what they do for us every day. Think about it.
Happy Veterans’ Day to one and all. We owe all those who serve — to a man and woman — a debt that can never be repaid.