Heroes.......

I haven't posted about Veterans Day because I didn't have the right words. Probably still don't. My dad was a WWII vet who saw no Boots on the Ground action. Yet he was a hero. He served his country. My husband was/is a Vietnam vet with a year of Boots on the Ground, when he was 19, in Nam. This was a war of a kaleidoscope of emotion. Americans were divided like never before. The soldiers lived in disgrace upon their return, all the while carrying the guilt of the war on their young shoulders. They were spit on, called baby killers, and mocked. Some spent years never mentioning their service because of the repercussions. They were never thanked. They were never honored. They were forgotten and shunned heroes. And the rage built in their hearts and souls because they never asked for their disgrace. They were young boys thrust into a jungle warfare that was foreign to anything they had been taught. They were doused with a pesticide that had/has long living consequences. Agent Orange. The emotional scars devastated them. What we know now as PTSD. We live it every day. And yet, we are survivors. This takes nothing from any other Veteran. Every one of you are beyond heroic. You serve your country. You matter. You are to be thanked. You all, no matter the war, return changed, not destroyed. And yet the road is long and hard and lived by the minute. So I salute you all. Because I know first hand; I live it standing beside my guy. We are the United States of America. I shed tears over those who disregard the sacrifices that have gone before and are still going on. Wake up USA. Stop the degradation of a lifestyle you are privileged to live. Someone fought a fight that allows you more freedom than you understand. I weep at your ignorance and entitlement. God Bless America and those who make this nation great.