Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Armistice Day

Most of this was plagerized, but says it all for me.





November 11th, what we now call "Veterans Day," was originally called Armistice Day, celebrated the end of World War I, when the guns fell silent across the Western Front on the 11th hour of 11th day in the 11 month of 1918. It is not a day to celebrate war, but to celebrate peace--and remember those for fought and died for it.



It is days such as this that finally give credit to those who have served, and at the same time remind us what a terrible toll war can have. It must always be remembered that the mission of the military is NOT to go to war, but to do all that is possible by being strong and trained and ready to make sure no one wants to go to war with us. The mission of our armed forces is not war, it is peace. It is the sheep dogs who keep the wolves away from the sheep, and our world if full of wolves.



First, those who have served in the armed forces know what it is like to do a job that is extremely difficult and dangerous, underpaid, and under-recognized. Still, the job has to be done and someone has to do it.



a Veteran knows what it is really like to:



Wade muddy swamps and rice paddies carrying 80-100 pounds of gear in steaming tropical heat;



Crawl across bloodstained sandy beaches of some Pacific atoll no one had ever heard of;



Slide 300 feet below the surface of the sea in a steel tube, waiting silently to see if the enemy has discovered you and will destroy you, and you will disappear with no one to know your fate;



Wade through frozen snow banks, or crouch in freezing fox holes at 20 below zero in a night where you are surrounded and outnumbered by an enemy intent on killing you at dawn;



Flying 20,000 feet above unfriendly territory, waiting for enemy fighters to appear, flak to burst around you, or a warning tone on the instrument panel screaming at you that a missile has locked on to your aircraft;



Being bruised and beaten as you sit in an armored box, rocking and reeling across blazing sand dunes, knowing that one anti-tank rocket could kill you and everyone else in your vehicle;



Putting your eye to a telescopic sight on a high-powered rifle, sweat stinging your eyes as you lay for hours in 130 degree heat in a jungle treeline, putting the crosshairs on the form of an enemy soldier and squeezing the trigger, knowing that you are personally going to end a life.



Moving huge artillery shells as quickly as possible to load the gun that is being fired as fast as possible to support your fellow troops in need, somewhere out there out of sight whose only presence is that frantic voice on the radio calling for a fire mission�right now, right here, and as quickly as possible;



Driving the trucks that drive the roads that bring the much needed ammo, chow and water to the guys who are doing all the above;



Sitting in a deep hole somewhere in South Dakota, waiting and waiting for what you hope never comes, with your attention always focused on the button that could launch a terrible weapon that could destroy thousands of lives in a land far away�men, women and children of a country you know little about;



As surface sailors and merchant marine, sailing in ships, small and gigantic, on a very big sea, knowing you are the biggest target on the board, and that if attacked and sunk, swimming home is not an option;



Serving in small cutters as Coast Guardsmen, in peace and war, guarding our coasts and answering the call overseas when needed;



And in the longest war in American history, the Cold War, walking an outpost in the heat or freezing cold in places around the world and training, and training, and training for a war you prayed would never come, or manning a radar station or a ready-fighter on the DEW line somewhere in the frozen north, or staring across the Berlin Wall or the Korean 38th parallel at enemy soldiers who are being trained and prepared to kill you at any time;



And always knowing that for other than your friends and family, you were doing a thankless job, one that very few people wanted, and in many cases due to politics, were even condemned for.



But as they say, someone had to do it, and the Veterans are the men and women who stepped forward. And history has proven over and over that serving one�s country, whether for one hitch or for a career, is The Most Honorable Profession. But a profession most misunderstood in today�s civilian world, and the world of yesteryear as well.



I thank all that served before me, with me and after me on this most honorable day. It is NOT about BBQ's and beer folks. Freedom Is Not Free.

Excellent!!!

Thank you for the Post!!!

Don

Retired US Army

there are still a lot of us that understand that every breath we take as a free man or woman was paid for with the blood of the American Soldier.I am also Damn proud to live in a country that raises so many brave young men and women that are willing to defend our freedom. All that have served are heros in my eyes.
I thank all veterans not only on veterans day but on every day,
thank you from a greatful citizen

Good one T - as per usual. I am reading Citizen Soldier by Ambrose right now. Amazing what those guys did in te first 75 days after Normandy.

Great post "T". I've had those very thoughts many times but I'm not nearly as articulate as you, so I thank you for putting them in words. I've been retired from the USAF since 1977 and still try to get to the local base on Veterans Day and usually Armed Forces Day, to say thanks to the guys now serving.

Terry,
As usual you said all that need saying. You say it is a gift of gab but it is much more than that. We veterans are proud.
God help our country if our youth fail to respond. We both wish we could serve in the place of the ones there now.