A Special Thanks to the Vets....

[leadpersuasion]

I was just strolling along on rangerup.com and found this short message beside one of the t-shirts they were selling. I was struck with humility and a desire to spread the man's message. We have all heard it before and in many ways, I am sharing this with many of you here, who are vets, and many here who are extremely supportive of our military anyway. But, nonetheless, I had to share it because it bears repeating.
God Bless you boys out there in the sandbox and everywhere on the globe, as well as those who have retired from active duty. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten and your nation sleeps soundly because of it. Words can't and never will convey the gratitude I have for you and those like you. May God grant you grace and peace.

http://www.rangerup.com/the45.html

I remember the day I found out I got into West Point.

My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class. She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter. She wasn?t crying because it had been her dream for me to go there. She was crying because she knew how hard I?d worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer. I was going to get that opportunity.

That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: ?Nick, you?re a smart guy. You don?t have to join the military. You should go to college, instead.?

I could easily write a tome defending West Pont and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won?t.

What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years. In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years. Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror. These are unbelievable statistics.

Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military. Taxes did not increase to pay for the war. War bonds were not sold. Gas was not regulated. In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts.

The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers. The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You.

You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on. You?ve lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you?ll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don?t understand. And you come home to a nation that doesn?t understand. They don?t understand suffering. They don?t understand sacrifice. They don?t understand that bad people exist. They look at you like you?re a machine ? like something is wrong with you. You are the misguided one ? not them. When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can?t understand the ?macro? issues they gathered from books with your bias. You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that. Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more.

But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this. You know your country will never pay back what you?ve given up. You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them. Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform. But you do it anyway. You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 ? YOU SERVED. Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group.

Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

[hjmoosejaw]

I'm sure that all veterans , after reading your words and the message you conveyed , really feel your heart felt appreciation and Thank You for taking the time to say it !   

[backwoodsboy]

its funny how people put down the troops when there talking to the biggest gang in america. people say were fighting for oil, hell wait till it runs out then a world war will be fought for oil then people will realize how important oil is. its what we use everyday as americans. and yes THANK A VETERAN please.

[JohnyMac]

Great find LP- Thanks

Not that parades give back to vets what was sacrificed but how about Bloomberg canceling the parade in NYC. What an ass wipe.

[Crow]

Very seldomly I'll get a very hallow "thank you for your service" and to be honest I never appreciate it.
When it comes from an older vet or even the sweet old lady that handed me that tiny little flag before I deuced out to go play in the sand thats when it matters. But when people say it just because they have nothing else to say I'd rather them say nothing and keep trucking.
Yesterday at work I found out that the company I work for will get some type of kickback for hiring vets. Me considering that and knowing that I will only be getting paid $8.50 per hour I asked the HR lady. "Hey since hiring me gets you guys a little extra money, does any of that trickle down to me? say an extra $1.00 per hour?" (maybe it was a stretch and I knew that but still, why not?) She looked at me rolled her eyes and said "about that." Then started a conversation with the trainer of the class. Meanwhile. The girl sitting behind me raised her hand and said. "Well other than Crow being CRAZY what is our schedule going to be like next week." The HR lady confirms that I am crazy and answered the girls question.

I do appreciate this thread. And I do appreciate people like you that actually recognizes what we do/did. But to people like the HR lady
whos right I protect to be able to express her atrocious demeanor towards me. She can go fuck herself.

In other words. Thanks man. You may or may not know what someone actually giving a shit matters. But I'd share my beans and rice with you any day. (not my ammo though. I'm poor folk.)

http://www.businessweek.com/finance/occupy-wall-street/archives/2011/11/the_vets_job_crisis_is_worse_than_you_think.html

[hjmoosejaw]

I know what ya mean. There is a guy at work ( a place with about 780 people) that makes it a point every Veterans Day to shake my and tell me Thanks for my service. I told him, " That means a lot to me, you're the only one that's ever said that to me." It bothers me when people say " they only went in for a job"  Fortunately I never had to see action. I commend all the guys and gals that did. My deepest gratitude to you guys. But to the ones that say " they only went in for a job". That may be, but they still took that oath knowing that one day they may be called to lay down their life for the Country, and you can't take that away from them. That is a huge sacrifice for anybody!