Being a Veteran

[xsquid]

Got this from a buddy of mine, who's also a vet. Don't know who to attribute it to, but I thought I'd share.

"A veteran, whether active duty or guard or reserve, is
someone who, at one part in their life, wrote a blank check
made payable to "The United States of America" for an
amount up to and including their life."

[chris]

i believe someone here has that in their sig line.

[uxo2]

blank check
made payable to "The United States of America" for an
amount up to and including their life."



So true.

[crowbar]

I have also seen it expressed as "All gave some; some gave all."

[professionalcoyotehunter]

So true! that is exactly how I felt everyday.

[mj1]

I think we owe more than that. I think we all need to be active in the American Legion and VFW. We need to think about those before us and those after us.

[chris]

Being a Vet can be hard because, for many, having once served is a hard thing to let go of. Things that happen in the military can be very defining moments in your life, they can change you forever and only years later, you realize it. Separation from service was the day I left my youth behind. But, as I've often seen, the older Vet comes full circle, filled with personal pride and integrity for the service he has done.

what you said is right on the money.the other part is that most people can't understand what we have been through. this is more prevelant today.

[resistor]

Being a Vet can be hard because, for many, having once served is a hard thing to let go of. Things that happen in the military can be very defining moments in your life, they can change you forever and only years later, you realize it. Separation from service was the day I left my youth behind. But, as I've often seen, the older Vet comes full circle, filled with personal pride and integrity for the service he has done.

So hard that for me, after almost 10 years after my original separation, I went back, knowing I would be deployed at some point. I did deploy, under a stop-loss order, and while deployed, wanted nothing more than to go home and get out. I did my job to the best of my ability while deployed, and all of my guys came home without a scratch, just as I promised myself, and their families. I realized after seeing many of the men I was with recently, that I BELONGED with them, with my unit, in the service, doing my job as best I can, so I did the deed and reenlisted for a couple more years. When I came home and told my wife what I did, she said that she wasn't mad, and that she knew long before I did that I would reup. She told me that whatever the case, whatever may come that she was proud of me for doing what I do.

I realize in my "old age" that I've finally come full circle.

[11Z50]

Full circle.....

I began my journey with the Army at age 17. I was an infantryman, and worked my way through rifleman to battalion operations sergeant over a period of 27 years.

I have been retired since my last party in 2003 at OIF I. There is not a day that passes that I don't think about my time in the Army.

I am a successful businessman now, and I employ a dozen people. My time in the Army gave me the skills to run a business, but my experiences in the Army gave me the wisdom to survive in the business world.

My "full circle" came in a moment in OIF I.

Now I thank God each day when I awake for another day of life. As November 11 nears, I think of my fallen brothers that would have liked to do the same, but will be forever young.