Tag Archives: Veteran’s Day

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On This Veteran’s Day

Normally, today would be my “Gaming” blog day. However, this is a special holiday that requires special attention. Tomorrow will be the “BluishOblivion Goes Gaming” day.

Today is Veteran’s Day, meaning that it’s time to recognize how we needed to celebrate our veteran’s by expressing gratitude to our veteran’s for their service. Some are lucky to return, but some aren’t as lucky. The families of these soldiers also do a service, supporting their loved ones as they answer a calling to defend their beloved country. However they end up in service, they serve and protect our rights. They risk the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we can act like idiots when it comes to politics or dishonor them by showing disrespect by spitting on them or mocking their service. We have those rights because of our veterans.

Our veterans deserve better. The lack of healthcare, the high incidence of homelessness in our country, and the lack of mental health care for these people who sacrificed so much for us is appalling. I feel as though the biggest disrespect we give to our soldiers when they return home is how we seem to turn our backs on them. “Thank you for your service. If you need medical care, you need to wait 6 months. If you need housing help, good luck kiddo. But thanks for your willingness to die so we can do absolutely nothing for you when you come back home.” Isn’t that what ends up happening in a lot more cases than should happen?

I take this very personally. I’m lucky enough that I had family serve and come home without too much of an issue. I know people who weren’t as lucky. I’m even more fortunate that they didn’t have as many struggles as others have. They have jobs, homes, families, living normal lives. But what about the ones who don’t have that? What are we doing for them?

I remember when I found out my brother was going to boot camp after enlisting in the Army. I was only in elementary school, but I remembered being upset by that. He used to take me out to McDonald’s and to roller skating lessons. He was over 10 years older than me, but as a kid I just knew that I had a cool brother that bought me roller skates (blue and white, because I loved blue) and hooked me up with lessons. I nailed them, by the way, which is shocking considering how uncoordinated and accident prone I am. I remember being pretty inconsolable when he left.

It was a long time ago, so memories aren’t too fresh. I remember when he came home from boot camp, I couldn’t stay up late enough to welcome him. But I do remember making a sign. Then I remember waking up to him making us French toast. I stood next to him as he taught me the secret recipe to make the perfect French toast. We ate together. It’s moments like that you remember. He wasn’t home for long. He went out to see the world, even visiting Korea for a while. Eventually he ended up going to Texas where he was going to be stationed. We didn’t see him a lot back then. I also remembered when my sister-in-law would come up to visit and he bought all these toys for us, including an Army Barbie for me. (Though, I’m very certain now that it was my sister-in-law who bought that for me. She’s great with gifts.)

I was much older when he came back. But I remember how happy I was about it. That meant he was going to be safe. That I didn’t have to worry about something happening to him. It’s that worry that every person who has a loved one overseas has to be concerned with. You want them to come home safe and be the exact person you remembered. That doesn’t always happen. It’s a fear that’s constantly in the back of your mind. Today on Veteran’s Day, remember that. Remember to salute a soldier in uniform and thank them for your service. Thank their families for their service as well. Think about what you can do to help. Donate to the USO or write thank you cards to those who served. Write Christmas cards to soldiers overseas or in hospitals this holiday season. Donate to soup kitchens or volunteer time there because a lot more vets visit these places than should have to. Donate to help veteran’s get service dogs. Fight for their rights by talking to your representatives to see what legislation they are working on to improve the lives of these men and women who fought to protect our lives. These are seemingly small acts that will take only a little of our time, but will have such a significant impact on the veterans and their family. I’d like to also personally thank our veteran’s for their service. We can never repay the part of you that you gave up serving, but we can show you that we are grateful.

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To The Most Important People in America

Normally, I don’t note holidays. Christmas is bleh. Thanksgiving was really a day we just gave small pox to Native Americans and plotted that we’d force some to live on reservations and feed the others a ton of cash by giving them casinos. Though, considering my oldest son’s birth, Thanksgiving is actually a dear holiday to me. (Also a note: this Thanksgiving is the first one where my son’s birthday actually falls on Thanksgiving since his birth.) However, every year there are two holidays I will always mention: Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.

I come from a family of Veterans. Generations of my own family has served in various branches of the military, including my dear big brother, and my grandfather that is the namesake for my youngest son. My “married” family, brings me a father-in-law who has served, and a cousin who has made his family proud by graduating into the Marines. The people in the military hold a soft spot in my otherwise cold and sarcastic heart, as I know personally how it feels missing a family member who is abroad or somewhere else in the country. I’ve watched people who have known family members who gave their lives to protect us, and their sadness is beyond words.

These men and women are selfless and brave. They go into bad situations, knowing that they might not come home. And they go into it anyways, because it’s for the greater good. We should aspire to be as good as they are, because they are amazing. They are the heart of America. They are the reason we have what we have today. They fight evils so we don’t have to witness them for ourselves. They face things we couldn’t imagine seeing, so we don’t have to. They come home to families that wait for them with broken hearts hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Sometimes, they leave a piece of them in war. Sometimes they lose something of theirs, whether it’s their sanity or a body part. They go full force anyways, because that’s what they signed up for so we don’t have to. They deserve more than one day for what they do. Their families deserve more than a day for the sacrifices they also make. Our soldiers are the most important people in America because they make it safe for Americans.

They deserve more than that. They deserve everything we can give them, because they give us everything they have. They give up their families, they miss their children. Some miss the births of their babies, some miss graduations and school plays and big championship games their children play in. They give it all up because they feel there’s a bigger plan for them, and that is being America’s protectors. So I, for one, am eternally grateful to all those who has served in the past and currently serve now. You risk your lives for us and don’t expect anything in return. So thank you all.

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A Nice Salute

I come from a family full of military men. My great-grandfather, my grandfather, an uncle, some cousins and my brother. I also live in a city where there’s an airbase, basically right down the street from it. My first job was a waitress that worked with serving meals to people on their way to boot camp and deployment. The military has played an important part of my life. My son, like any son probably, loves to pretend he’s a soldier and wears a military plastic helmet and does a patrol. Living so close to the base, he often sees a person in uniform and always seems to get their attention to salute them. He wants them to know he appreciates the danger they put themselves through to protect us, and he honestly admires them. He says he won’t enlist though because his “mommy’s heart couldn’t handle football, let alone war”. He’s probably very right.

I was young when my brother enlisted. I was close to him and I remember being heartbroken he had to go away. I’m pretty sure I locked myself in my room a long time and cried. I remember when he was coming home to visit, I worked to make a nice banner for him and woke up to him making french toast. (Amazing the things you remember when you try.) To this day, I make french toast just like he did. Since he doesn’t read this, I can also say embarrassingly that every time I make french toast, I think about him. It’s stupid to think though, since he only lives a mile away and I see him a few times a week for family dinners and because our sons are friends.

I’m lucky, everyone I know that served always came home. They weren’t fighting in wars, they were helping protect people to make sure a war didn’t happen. I know people personally that weren’t as lucky, and those are the people we need to personally thank. It wasn’t just the service of our family and friends, it was the service the military families give. They give us their family and stand by them while they fight for their country. They worry constantly about whether their family member will return alive, not just mentioning worrying about the person they will be when they come back. Sadly, they don’t always come back. Veteran’s Day isn’t just about those who serve our country honorably; it’s about their families who suffer waiting and have broken hearts when their loved ones aren’t alive when they return. It’s about families who never even get lucky to see their loved one a last time or are left wondering if they are alive or dead for years. We need to take a moment to thank them too, though they might not accept our gratitude because the pain of loss is so great.