11-10-2018
Veterans Day 2018 Thailand Veterans Vietnam War
If you know me, you know my heart is with our Thailand Veterans of the Vietnam War. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t eat, sleep and breathe a deep sense of gratitude for the service and sacrifices made in Southeast Asia at a time when it really counted.
For many of us the war over, oh the American War has ended alright, but for those of us who were exposed by herbicides, pesticides and petroleum products the suffering and the dying continue. We suffer heart disease, diabetes, neuropathy and too many illnesses for even the VA to recognize.
We’ve been shunned by many of our countrymen, fellow veterans and our government because our tour was seen as one huge Rest & Relaxation Tour (R & R). Our service has been hidden, marginalized and ignored by so many for so long that it has taken 40 years for us to hold our heads up high.
Not part of the war; not really there; stolen valor and much worse they said and still do today. We missed our family birthdays and anniversaries, Thanksgiving Dinners, Christmases and for many of us we missed the protests, the marches, the hippy movement and the veterans against the war.
Where were you when man walked on the moon (one small step for mankind) or during Kent State and the LA riots? We were still there. Our mission, our lives and the lives of so many others depended on it.
Fighters, B-52s and many other aircraft need fuel, bullets and bombs. Crews need the “beans”. Our jobs were not 9 to 5 banker’s hour jobs. We worked long, hard and often in adverse weather in a land so far away that even our families did not know where we were. We worked 24/7/365 rain or shine, day or night – because we were sent and given a mission. Failure was not an option.
So for the many “unknown” warriors who made it happen in the land of smiles and endured 12 months and often more so that others may live – I salute you!
Tomorrow is officially Veterans Day 11/11/18, and our nation observes it on Monday 11/12/18.
Thank you for your service and more importantly “Welcome Home Brothers and Sisters”!
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