I’ve always been more than a little uneasy on Veterans Day. I’ve worn a uniform most of my life and in the last decade – for obvious reasons – the number of times I hear “thank you for your service” has taken a dramatic spike. But there is a wide range of “service” out there. Recently, I was reminded of just how much difference there is between us “Vets.”
Last week I was standing in front 100 marine officers, all of who recently returned from combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of them had scars (one kind or another) from their service. The glaring difference between their military experience and mine – actual combat – to one side, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what else made them so different.
These young men and women (two-thirds of them were under 28 years old) had joined the service between 2003 and 2007. What that means is that they spent years of their young lives watching their friends and families come home dead or wounded and still said, “Sign me up.” At a time in the world where going into harms way was an imperative rather than a remote possibility, these people had volunteered anyway. Click here to keep reading...
When you’re done reading Mario’s blog come on over to CQuest's Facebook page for a link to a short but powerful video tribute to our armed forces. Have a good Veteran’s Day everyone…
