Being that this is Memorial Day week, I am not going to pick an individual to honor this week. Memorial Day is a time to honor all of those who gave their lives for this great nation. Above and beyond the the brave men and women of our armed forces, this includes public safety officers such as police, firemen, EMT's etc. While all of these people are both brave and noble, the group I want honor typically receives a very bad rap. This week I want to honor our brave, and much maligned, Vietnam War Veterans.
Often we heap kudos and honor upon our glorious World War II and Korea vets, yet we as a nation have barely even made a down payment on the tremendous debt we owe these brave men and women. When they returned from the war zone, they were spat upon, cursed and called horrible names such as murderer and baby-killer, yet was their sacrifices any less than the veterans of other wars? The answer is no, it was not. They fought just as hard, and bled just a red for freedom.
To this day the perception of this group of vets, is of slightly unbalanced individuals who are incapable of having a normal relationship of any kind, holding down a job or maintaining a home. Statistics say this perception is true, but a the great Mark Twain said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." The truth is, that when the experts attempted to verify what the statistics told them, they found them to be total and complete bollocks.
The blunt truth is we have not done right by these men and women, both in taking care of the survivors, nor in honoring their fallen. It is for all of these reasons that I honor these mostly unsung heroes. I hope that honoring these brave veterans will help repay the great debt we owe these men and women, though I know my efforts to be insignificant.
Often we heap kudos and honor upon our glorious World War II and Korea vets, yet we as a nation have barely even made a down payment on the tremendous debt we owe these brave men and women. When they returned from the war zone, they were spat upon, cursed and called horrible names such as murderer and baby-killer, yet was their sacrifices any less than the veterans of other wars? The answer is no, it was not. They fought just as hard, and bled just a red for freedom.
To this day the perception of this group of vets, is of slightly unbalanced individuals who are incapable of having a normal relationship of any kind, holding down a job or maintaining a home. Statistics say this perception is true, but a the great Mark Twain said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." The truth is, that when the experts attempted to verify what the statistics told them, they found them to be total and complete bollocks.
The blunt truth is we have not done right by these men and women, both in taking care of the survivors, nor in honoring their fallen. It is for all of these reasons that I honor these mostly unsung heroes. I hope that honoring these brave veterans will help repay the great debt we owe these men and women, though I know my efforts to be insignificant.
