As most of
you know my husband is a Vietnam vet and I am very proud of that. He enlisted, he was not drafted, nor did he
run off to Canada. Instead he chose to
go into the army and fight for our freedom and the freedom of others when it was
not a popular thing to do.
I didn’t
meet him until he’d been home from Nam for almost a year, for that I am
thankful too. I don’t know that I could
have bore the stress so many of our nation’s families bear now when their
military spouses are in war zones.
I met my
husband 41 years ago this month and we wed the following spring. He seldom speaks of Nam and when he does it’s
just briefly. I’m still learning after
all these years what he did there and how it shaped the man I know and love
today.
For years he
didn’t stand up when different organizations saluted the vets, because he came
home during the “baby killer” era. He
was told to NOT wear his uniform on leave to avoid trouble and that stuck with
him for years. Things changed a few years ago and now he proudly wears clothing
designating him as a vet and stands up when saluted for his service.
Until this
year we have never taken advantage of the free meals for vets offered by so
many restaurants. Oh occasionally we’ve
picked up a fast food sandwich offered for free to a vet, through the
drive-thru, but we’ve never gone into a restaurant for the free meal.
This year I
convinced him to take advantage of the meal offered at Golden Corral. I am glad I did, because it affected both of
us greatly. I want to thank Golden
Corral, the Disabled Veterans of America and Gary Sinise for making the
opportunity possible.
I know that
sounds strange that a free meal can impact your life and make you think hard
about what it represents, but it did.
We almost
didn’t go because we knew it would be crowded and neither of us is big on
crowds, but we did go.
When we were
got there the double line reached out both doors and we almost left as the wind
had started to turn chilly and neither of us had a jacket on. But then a man came up to us and asked if Gary
was a vet, as another offered us our choice of cookies from a platter.
My husband
nodded quietly, and the man placed a sticker on his chest and said “thank you
for your service, enjoy your meal, you earned it and much more.”
The sticker
read simply “I served” That said a lot in those two words. As we stood in line we looked around to see
men and women of all ages and all conditions of health. Some were minus limbs, others in leg braces,
a few on ECV’s and some just had a totally lost look on their faces.
Once we got
into the atrium of the restaurant I could hear the background music playing on
the P.A. system and soon realized it was a combination of military salute music
and music from each era of the various veterans that were there. I smiled when “White Rabbit” played.
A quiet
announcement told us that all the servers were NOT being paid for waiting on
our tables today that they had all volunteered their service in an effort to
say thank you to those that helped them maintain their freedom. There was no asking for a donation or tip for
the servers, but I noticed that every vet, including us, left a tip for the
servers as we left.
When one vet
walked by with a service dog no one objected to the dog being there and a small
child in front of me said “puppy Daddy” as it went by. His young veteran father replied—“son that
dog is a soldier, helping another soldier.”
Something
about that words, and looking around at all the brave men and women from wars
from WWII forward made tears well in my eyes.
These were
the people who had fought in one way or another to give us as a nation the
right to have all we have and to strive for more if that is what we want.
When we
reached the register my husband was again thanked for his service and a greeter
took us to a seat among other Vietnam vets.
As we went
through the buffet line I realized that my husband’s age and that our era, the
Baby Boomers, were the largest represented and while we were almost entirely
surrounded by those that proudly wore hats, pins, leather motorcycle vests
stating they served in Viet Nam the older and younger vets were sprinkled in,
but far fewer in number.
Was it
because only our generation was ready to be saluted in such a manner? Or has our patriotism taken a hit? I pray it’s the former and not the
latter. I hold out hope for our younger
generation, after all like the young man said “ a soldier, helping another
soldier.”
During the
meal my husband grew quiet as he watched groups of vets that knew each other
meet up and hug each other. He later
told me it made him, like it made me, realize how many of our friends didn’t
come home, or who have since died from wounds and Agent Orange from the
war. It was a bittersweet moment,
knowing that these fine men and women had served and survived to inspire future
generations, like the young soldier holding his toddler son and telling him the
dog was a soldier, helping another soldier.
Veterans Day
is over for this year, but many soldiers still need our support and gratitude
every day of the year. Let’s not forget
how important their service is to all of us as a nation.
Jan who is
VERY proud to be the wife of a Vietnam vet in OK
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