A Salute to Veterans

In 1968, I received notice from the Selective Service Board that I had been appointed to take ‘A Physical Examination to Determine My Qualification For Enlistment’ into military service. At the time, Clinton was in Canada with many other ‘conscientious objectors’ to the war in Vietnam; personally, I believe that the main objection was to getting in the way of a bullet. Several of my friends – some, who had enlisted – had already arrived home in boxes and many more were yet to come home that way. At the time, I was not of the belief that our main objective was to ‘fight communism’. At at young age, I was already skeptical of the motivations of rich people. As a Rocket Scientist of reknown, my father provided us with a big home and rich neighbors. Coming home from school at the finish of the 8th grade, with a close friend in tow, I turned into our driveway and from behind me I heard…”You don’t live here!!” A little stunned, I did not know what to say so I replied, “Well, I’m walking in the front door.” I not only never felt different from anyone else, I did not want to be considered ‘different’. The point is, I lived amongst wealthy people and I saw how they drove, how they thought and the degree to which they could embody evil if prompted. The Rich are different. So, I took the physical because, if my country called me then, whether or not I believed in the cause, I would support my fellow Americans. As it turns out, I was not called to serve because my draft lottery number was very high. Though I am happy that I was not sent the bus fare, I know that I would have died in Vietnam. My dedication to my fellow Americans would have made it so. Over the years I have helped dozens of Veterans with money and/or work. To this day, I honor Veterans and encourage their stories, often asking, “What was the best thing about the service?” In almost every case it was ‘the camaraderie’. I learned not to pry further and I would say “the bond of Americans is a beautiful thing”. AND IT IS. There is something about our collective spirit; our undying faith in one another and our belief that our cause is righteous and just. We still have that. The American Veteran is in a category a far cut above the rest. Millions of Veterans have died for the ideal that is America and the duty to ensure that America will endure as the greatest bastion of Freedom that this Earth has ever witnessed. Those ideas have been tested these last few years. And now, it appears that we are on not the road but, a highway to rebuild our visions for a future that our children and grandchildren will inherit and sustain that will extend true Freedom to other parts of the world in new ways. The American values of hard work, faith in God and Love of Country are returning like a great wave that will not be stopped. God Bless our Veterans and all of those who have sacrificed their limbs, their sanity and their lives to sustain this great nation of possibilities, compassion and Freedom For All. We are the best that this world has to offer precisely because we encourage and help others to follow our lead.